ZIP Codes in Alaska
Alaska is the largest US state by land area by a wide margin, yet one of the smallest by population, and that mismatch defines its ZIP code map more than almost any other state's. A single Alaska ZIP code can cover an area larger than some entire East Coast states, serving a scattering of small communities connected more by bush plane and ferry than by road.
How ZIP Codes Are Organized Across the State
Alaska's ZIP codes occupy the 995xx–999xx range under the USPS system, the northernmost block of numbers in the entire country. Anchorage, by far the state's largest city, anchors the lower end around 995xx and 996xx. Fairbanks, in the state's interior, sits near 997xx, while Juneau, the state capital, carries codes closer to 998xx despite being accessible only by air or sea, with no road connection to the rest of Alaska's highway system.
Alaska's Major Population Centers
The chart below shows how population concentrates around Alaska's largest cities - Anchorage alone accounts for well over a third of the state's entire population.
Anchorage's ZIP codes cover Alaska's economic and transportation hub, home to the state's busiest airport and the majority of its retail, healthcare, and corporate activity. Fairbanks, further north and much colder in winter, serves as the gateway to Alaska's interior and the Arctic, with ZIP codes reflecting both the city itself and the university community built around the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For context on how Alaska's numbering compares nationally, our full US ZIP code directory lays out every state's range side by side.
No Counties, Just Boroughs and Census Areas
Unlike most US states, Alaska doesn't use counties at all - instead, it's divided into boroughs and, in areas without organized borough government, census areas. This unusual structure shapes how ZIP code data gets reported here: rather than a "county" column, Alaska ZIP codes are typically grouped by borough or census area, which can span enormous, sparsely populated territory in the state's north and west.
Remote and Bush Communities
A large share of Alaska's ZIP codes serve communities with no road access at all - villages along the Yukon River, Arctic coastal towns like Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), and remote fishing communities in the Aleutian Islands chain. Mail to these ZIP codes typically arrives by small plane, and in some cases only a few times a week, a sharp contrast to the daily delivery residents of Anchorage or Fairbanks take for granted. This geography also means a single ZIP code out west or in the Arctic can cover many thousands of square miles for just a few hundred residents.
Why ZIP Codes Matter Beyond Mail
In Alaska, ZIP codes carry extra weight simply because so much of daily logistics depends on them. Shipping companies use them to calculate freight costs that can vary dramatically between road-connected Anchorage and fly-in-only villages. Healthcare and telemedicine providers use them to coordinate care across a state where the nearest hospital might be a plane ride away. And real estate listings in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley near Wasilla lean on ZIP codes just as heavily as anywhere else in the country to signal neighborhood and commute distance.
Alaska's Unique Geographic Isolation
Alaska doesn't share a land border with any other US state - its only connections are a long international border with Canada's Yukon and British Columbia, and the Bering Strait separating it from Russia. That isolation means Alaska's ZIP code system operates somewhat independently from the rest of the country's postal geography, without the kind of cross-border neighborhood overlap you'd see between, say, Washington and Oregon further south. Most goods and mail bound for Alaska route through Seattle before making the final trip north or west.
Finding the Right ZIP Code
Use the list below to browse Alaska's ZIP codes by city, borough, or population - sorted so the most populous areas surface first. Each entry links through to a detailed page with additional demographic data. If you're trying to identify the ZIP code for a specific address rather than browsing by city, the search tool at the top of this page will get you there faster than scrolling through the full list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ZIP codes does Alaska have?
Alaska has around 200 ZIP codes, a relatively small number given its size, reflecting how sparsely populated most of the state is outside a handful of cities.
What ZIP code range does Alaska use?
Alaska ZIP codes fall between 99500 and 99999, the northernmost block in the entire USPS numbering system.
Why does Alaska use boroughs instead of counties?
Alaska adopted a borough system rather than traditional counties, and large parts of the state remain in unorganized census areas rather than formal borough government.
Can I look up an Alaska ZIP code by city name?
Yes, use the search tool on this page or browse the full list below, which is organized by city and sorted by population.
Whether you're relocating to Anchorage for work, researching a remote Alaska community, or simply trying to pin down the right ZIP code for a specific address, the data below covers the state from its largest city to its most remote fly-in villages.