City · Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska

Unalaska, Alaska

Unalaska is a city in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska. It has 4,556 residents. Unalaska, Alaska has a quality-of-life score of 62 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,009 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alaska it ranks #27 of 71 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), average commute time (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and new business applications (low).

62High

Quality-of-life score: #6,009 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alaska: #27 of 71 in AK
Population: 4,556 (2020-2024)
Land area: 102 mi²
Density: 44.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0280770

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 62 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety84#2,514/15,637
Economy68#4,942/15,631
Housing86#2,082/14,977
Health86#2,122/15,609
Healthcare19#12,677/15,650
Environment—
Education60#6,232/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,230/15,650
Community30#10,914/15,651
Leisure & amenities21#12,357/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Unalaska, Alaska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Aleutians West Census Area value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low0.0 /100k
100/100Alaska 9.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataAleutians West Census Area value
Average commute time · low6.4 min
100/100Alaska 19.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Property crime rate · low120 /100k
100/100Alaska 1,893 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureAleutians West Census Area value
Rent-burdened households · low30.7%
100/100Alaska 44.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Alaska 30.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAleutians West Census Area value
Depression · low14.0%
99/100Alaska 20.8%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high834 mi
0/100Alaska 131 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAleutians West Census Area value
Distance to an emergency room · high477.7 mi
0/100Alaska 46.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAleutians West Census Area value
New business applications · low5.2 /1k
0/100Alaska 14.3 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauAleutians West Census Area value
Social associations · low0.0 /10k
0/100Alaska 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAleutians West Census Area value
Job growth · low-9.0%
0/100Alaska -1.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAleutians West Census Area value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high1,925 mi
1/100Alaska 1,315 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAleutians West Census Area value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
0.9 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 87.7% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$94,750 (2015-2019) → $131,964 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
23.1% (2015-2019) → 30.7% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
4.4% (2015-2019) → 11.2% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeImproving
8.2 min (2015-2019) → 6.4 min (2020-2024)
−22%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Unalaska, Alaska improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+39%$94,750 → $131,964
Commute−1.8 min8.2 min → 6.4 min
Broadband+8.3 points79.4% → 87.7%

Declined1

Poverty+3.9 points5.7% → 9.6%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Unalaska, Alaska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	8.2 min2015-2019	6.4 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Improved	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.7%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	87.7%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Improved	51%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	89.0%2015-2019	89.9%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3312015-2019	0.3572020-2024	+0.026	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$94,7502015-2019	$131,9642020-2024	+39%	Improved	73%
Poverty rate	5.7%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Declined	16%
Rent as share of income	19.0%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent-burdened households	23.1%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Unemployment rate	1.9%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.1%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	13%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Unalaska, Alaska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Unalaska, Alaska in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Unalaska, Alaska itself moved −2.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,556 residents (±165)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

839 households (±99)

Unalaska, Alaska
Alaska share

Under $25k4.8%†40
$25k–50k6.0%†50
$50k–75k12%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

839 households (±99)

Unalaska, Alaska
Alaska share

Own30%253
Rent70%586

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,367 workers (±200)

Unalaska, Alaska
Alaska share

Drive alone44%1,474
Carpool10%†344
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Aleutians West Census Area, the county holding most of Unalaska's residents.

Aleutians West Census Area has 119 employer establishments, 233 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 0.77× Alaska's), with 3,897 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,164. The Census Bureau also counts 197 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 119; 197 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 233; US 248 · Alaska 302
Paid employees: 3,897
Average annual pay: $65,164; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Aleutians West Census Area by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	9	17.6	0.85×Too few to compare	73	$91,562	3
Food manufacturing	8	15.7	17.0×Too few to compare	2,506	$43,500	—
Outpatient care centers	6	11.8	6.39×Too few to compare	53	$89,943	—
Specialty trade contractors	6	11.8	0.76×Too few to compare	26	$84,231	7
Restaurants and other eating places	5	9.8	0.53×Too few to compare	47	$38,596	—
Full-service restaurants	4	7.8	1.02×Too few to compare	42	$39,071	—
Grocery and convenience stores	4	7.8	2.64×Too few to compare	95	$146,116	4
Architectural, engineering and related services	3	5.9	1.69×Too few to compare	3	$62,000	—
Building equipment contractors	3	5.9	0.98×Too few to compare	18	$101,167	3
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	3	5.9	2.38×Too few to compare	18	$101,167	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Advertising, public relations and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—

Rank places for an industry Open Aleutians West Census Area

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,101 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Unalaska, Alaska: $819 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.7M; −64% vs FY2025
Per resident: $819; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.4%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$3.2M87%
U.S. Coast Guard$394.1K11%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$40.5K1.1%
Department of the Army$36.1K1.0%
Federal Aviation Administration$21.6K0.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

8.4MFY2017
8.3MFY2018
20.1MFY2019
8.2MFY2020
23.7MFY2021
24.6MFY2022
8.6MFY2023
16M

Top industries (NAICS)

Deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation · 4831$3.1M84%
Ship and boat building · 3366$242.9K6.5%
Support activities for water transportation · 4883$115.1K3.1%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$113.1K3.0%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance · 8113$36.9K1.0%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Unalaska, Alaska

UNALASKA (DUTCH HARBOR) CHANNELS, ALASKA$9.3M
J. E. MCAMIS, INC· Aleutians West Census Area, AK· Construction & real property· Jul 17, 2024 – Oct 31, 2025· W911KB24C0015
NOAA, ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER - VESSEL CHARTER BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY IN THE GULF OF ALASKA/EASTER BERING SEA SHELF AND NORTHERN BERING SEA$6M
UNITED STATES SEAFOODS, LLC· Aleutians West Census Area, AK· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 15, 2022 – Jun 24, 2026· 1305M322CNFFS0079
NOAA, ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER - VESSEL CHARTER BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY IN THE GULF OF ALASKA/EASTER BERING SEA SHELF AND NORTHERN BERING SEA$5.5M
B & N FISHERIES COMPANY· Aleutians West Census Area, AK· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 14, 2022 – Jun 24, 2026· 1305M322CNFFS0082

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Unalaska, Alaska, so they do not add up across cities.

Unalaska, Alaska's figures are part of those of Aleutians West Census Area, AK ($4.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 79% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Unalaska is mostly in Aleutians West Census Area.

See federal money in Aleutians West Census Area

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Unalaska, Alaska is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Nicholas J. Begich IIIR-AK · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Aleutians West Census Area60100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Aleutians West Census Area

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0280770

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends