The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Fairbanks North Star Borough is a county of Alaska with 95,460 residents. Its economy produced $7,891 million in 2024 (ranked #3 of 30 counties) and had 37,015 jobs with an average annual pay of $69,700 (#10 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2026M09. It is part of the Fairbanks-College, AK metropolitan area (central county).
Fairbanks North Star Borough produced about $7,891 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 11.0% of the combined output of the 30 counties of Alaska that BEA reports (about 13.0% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 3rd of 30 on that measure. Per resident that is $82,666, 15% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $97,277. In current dollars output grew 9.5% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation. The gap between its output rank (3rd) and its output-per-resident rank (15th) shows that population is large relative to the value of what is produced here.
BLS counts 37,015 jobs located in Fairbanks North Star Borough on average in 2024, spread over 2,441 employer sites (about 15 jobs per site). That is 0.39 jobs for every resident, below the 0.45 of the typical county in Alaska, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $69,700, about the same as the average of all counties in the state ($69,700 against $71,673). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 2.4% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (20.6% of private jobs, $76,996 a year on average), retail trade (17.5% of private jobs, $44,032 a year on average), accommodation and food services (14.7% of private jobs, $31,662 a year on average). Together they hold 52.8% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is construction at $112,504 a year, followed by health care and social assistance ($76,996). The county is specialised in an industry: construction (1.5 times the US share, 2,884 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($44,032), accommodation and food services ($31,662). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Fairbanks North Star Borough was 3.5%, 11% below the average of the state's counties (3.5% against 3.9%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 45,010. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.1% (2026M08) to 5.0% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $88,267 (ACS 2020–2024), 5% below the state median ($88,267 against $92,788). The guide covers 6 cities with this as the main county: Fairbanks, Badger, College, Steele Creek, Chena Ridge, Farmers Loop. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,110 in Chena Ridge to $1,629 in Badger, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Fairbanks North Star Borough in output are Anchorage Municipality, North Slope Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 30 counties of Alaska ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 95,460 | 3 of 30 |
| GDP 2024 | $7,891 million | 3 of 30 |
| GDP per resident | $82,666 | 15 of 30 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 37,015 | 2 of 30 |
| Average annual pay | $69,700 | 10 of 30 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +2.4% | 12 of 30 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.5% | 12 of 30 |
| Median household income | $88,267 | 10 of 30 |
Federal jobs in Alaska (324) →All cities of AlaskaState guide: Alaska
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Fairbanks North Star Borough.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | 32,083 | $73,534 | $1,496 | $268,400 | 26.2% |
| Badger | 18,677 | $97,183 | $1,629 | $310,600 | 23.6% |
| College | 11,924 | $83,895 | $1,454 | $297,500 | 39.9% |
| Steele Creek | 5,928 | $121,364 | $1,223 | $348,400 | 35.3% |
| Chena Ridge | 5,881 | $133,775 | $1,110 | $395,500 | 47.8% |
| Farmers Loop | 4,954 | $109,950 | $1,406 | $279,800 | 33.3% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 5,403 | 20.6% | $76,996 | 1.02 |
| Retail trade | 4,581 | 17.5% | $44,032 | 1.24 |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,866 | 14.7% | $31,662 | 1.15 |
| Construction | 2,884 | 11.0% | $112,504 | 1.48 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,023 | 7.7% | $76,526 | 1.29 |
| Professional and technical services | 1,212 | 4.6% | $76,170 | 0.47 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 1,184 | 4.5% | $60,126 | 1.06 |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,102 | 4.2% | $64,481 | 0.51 |
| Manufacturing | 684 | 2.6% | $56,503 | 0.22 |
| Wholesale trade | 624 | 2.4% | $76,829 | 0.43 |
| Real estate and rental | 573 | 2.2% | $60,162 | 1.00 |
| Finance and insurance | 524 | 2.0% | $70,332 | 0.35 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 501 | 1.9% | $28,900 | 0.81 |
| Utilities | 469 | 1.8% | $107,642 | 3.33 |
| Information | 282 | 1.1% | $90,684 | 0.41 |
| Educational services | 224 | 0.9% | $34,865 | 0.29 |
| Management of companies | 113 | 0.4% | $120,549 | 0.18 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 45,010 |
| Employed residents | 43,414 |
| Unemployed residents | 1,596 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.5% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 37,015 |
| Employer sites | 2,441 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality | 288,976 | $32,113 million | $111,128 | 147,256 | $74,666 | 3.4% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 112,988 | $4,465 million | $39,520 | 29,515 | $58,329 | 4.1% |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | 95,460 | $7,891 million | $82,666 | 37,015 | $69,700 | 3.5% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | 60,413 | $3,590 million | $59,429 | 21,474 | $62,398 | 4.1% |
| Juneau City and Borough | 31,794 | $3,227 million | $101,490 | 17,698 | $68,540 | 2.9% |
| Bethel Census Area | 18,394 | $837 million | $45,508 | 6,426 | $54,820 | 10.3% |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 13,768 | $1,237 million | $89,882 | 7,277 | $62,614 | 3.0% |
| Kodiak Island Borough | 12,771 | $989 million | $77,450 | 5,539 | $60,845 | 3.0% |
| North Slope Borough | 10,810 | $8,088 million | $748,175 | 11,794 | $128,567 | 3.4% |
| Nome Census Area | 9,866 | $603 million | $61,135 | 3,893 | $75,229 | 7.6% |
| Sitka City and Borough | 8,368 | $735 million | $87,798 | 4,479 | $61,555 | 2.7% |
| Kusilvak Census Area | 8,176 | $181 million | $22,155 | 1,959 | $38,914 | 15.7% |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | 7,441 | $744 million | $99,920 | 2,999 | $89,651 | 9.1% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 7,068 | $1,055 million | $149,229 | 3,187 | $90,122 | 5.3% |
| Chugach Census Area | 6,862 | $1,473 million | $214,588 | 3,593 | $74,978 | 3.7% |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 5,715 | $294 million | $51,444 | 2,111 | $54,711 | 7.2% |
| Aleutians West Census Area | 5,235 | $1,346 million | $257,133 | 3,267 | $83,204 | 2.3% |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 5,195 | $384 million | $73,853 | 2,292 | $52,125 | 8.7% |
| Dillingham Census Area | 4,724 | $324 million | $68,597 | 2,091 | $67,566 | 7.1% |
| Aleutians East Borough | 3,491 | $289 million | $82,761 | 1,736 | $71,381 | 2.6% |
| Petersburg Borough | 3,409 | $217 million | $63,522 | 1,228 | $55,599 | 3.1% |
| Copper River Census Area | 2,626 | $169 million | $64,335 | 1,107 | $56,861 | 6.7% |
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 2,311 | $144 million | $62,391 | 1,026 | $51,184 | 4.1% |
| Wrangell-Petersburg City and Borough | 2,088 | $119 million | $56,773 | 778 | $56,956 | 4.1% |
| Haines Borough | 2,086 | $150 million | $71,774 | 1,038 | $51,748 | 4.9% |
| Denali Borough | 1,969 | $413 million | $209,798 | 1,965 | $67,009 | 2.1% |
| Skagway Municipality | 1,244 | $128 million | $103,161 | 915 | $58,010 | 2.5% |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | 1,013 | $142 million | $139,900 | 867 | $51,234 | 6.4% |
| Bristol Bay Borough | 918 | $179 million | $194,757 | 1,228 | $70,779 | 4.2% |
| Yakutat City and Borough | 527 | $42 million | $80,402 | 330 | $62,398 | 3.6% |
95,460 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$7,891 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.5% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
37,015 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $69,700 (BLS QCEW).