County outline
Where Sitka City and Borough is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 60.1% of Sitka City and Borough’s measured area and water for 39.9%. Its combined area converts to 12,365.8 square kilometers or approximately 3,055,651 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 2,870.285 | 7,434.004 | 1,836,982.4 |
| Water | 1,904.17 | 4,931.778 | 1,218,668.8 |
| Total | 4,774.455 | 12,365.782 | 3,055,651.2 |
How Sitka City and Borough compares
By original Census land area, Sitka City and Borough ranks #24 of 30 in Alaska and #182 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.383 times the Alaska county-equivalent median of 7,486.4 square miles. It accounts for 0.5% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Alaska ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Sitka City and Borough
The Census Bureau estimates that 8,319 people lived in Sitka City and Borough on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,628 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #11 of 30 in Alaska. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 8,454, the population has declined by 135 (−1.6%), compared with +0.5% for Alaska as a whole.
With 2,870.3 square miles of land, that is 2.9 people per square mile (1.1 per km²), placing Sitka City and Borough #2,992 nationally for density and #6 in Alaska. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Alaska median is 0.73. Put another way, there are about 221 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 8,430 | 8,381 | 8,360 | 8,308 | 8,384 | 8,319 |
| Change | — | −49 | −21 | −52 | +76 | −65 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Sitka City and Borough
Every resident of Sitka City and Borough lives within Sitka city and borough. The city and the county equivalent cover the same territory, 2,870.3 square miles of land in the 2026 place Gazetteer, so there are no separate towns or unincorporated areas to list.
Metropolitan area
Sitka City and Borough is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area has land in Sitka City and Borough, and it lies mostly inside the county.
99835
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Sitka City and Borough
Sitka City and Borough shares a land border with 2 county equivalents. Each of them has more land than Sitka City and Borough. The largest neighbor is Hoonah-Angoon Census Area (6,560 mi²) and the smallest is Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (5,268.2 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Sitka City and Borough forms a block of 14,698.5 mi² of land, of which it holds 19.5%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Sitka | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 6,560 | 2.3× larger | Compare |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 5,268.2 | 1.8× larger | Compare |
How big is Sitka City and Borough compared with U.S. states?
Sitka City and Borough has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 1.5 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 1.7 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Alaska’s county land could hold about 199 areas the size of Sitka City and Borough.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 53.6 miles (86.2 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Sitka City and Borough?
Sitka City and Borough has more land than 3,040 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Sitka City and Borough at #96 nationally by total area, 86 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 39.9%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 38.7 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Sitka City and Borough in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #181 | Perkins County, South Dakota | 2,870.5 | Compare |
| #182 | Sitka City and Borough, Alaska | 2,870.3 | This county |
| #183 | Crook County, Wyoming | 2,854.5 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 57.193204, -135.367396. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 7,434,002,758 m²; AWATER: 4,931,777,354 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Sitka City and Borough?
Sitka City and Borough, Alaska has 2,870.3 square miles (7,434 km²) of land and 1,904.2 square miles of water, for a total area of 4,774.5 square miles. It ranks #182 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Sitka City and Borough the largest county in Alaska?
No. Sitka City and Borough ranks #24 of 30 in Alaska by land area. The largest is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, with 145,767.5 square miles of land.
What counties border Sitka City and Borough?
Sitka City and Borough shares a land border with Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area.
What is the population of Sitka City and Borough?
The Census Bureau estimates Sitka City and Borough had 8,319 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,628 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 2.9 people per square mile of land.
Is Sitka City and Borough part of a metropolitan area?
No. Sitka City and Borough is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Sitka City and Borough?
1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area has land in Sitka City and Borough, and 1 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Sitka City and Borough compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 2 of the 50 states, including Delaware (1,948.6 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Sitka City and Borough?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,836,982 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 3,055,651 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.