County outline
Where Wrangell City and Borough is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 73.6% of Wrangell City and Borough’s measured area and water for 26.4%. Its combined area converts to 8,990.2 square kilometers or approximately 2,221,526 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 2,556.287 | 6,620.753 | 1,636,023.7 |
| Water | 914.848 | 2,369.445 | 585,502.7 |
| Total | 3,471.135 | 8,990.198 | 2,221,526.4 |
How Wrangell City and Borough compares
By original Census land area, Wrangell City and Borough ranks #26 of 30 in Alaska and #213 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.341 times the Alaska county-equivalent median of 7,486.4 square miles. It accounts for 0.4% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Alaska ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Wrangell City and Borough
The Census Bureau estimates that 2,007 people lived in Wrangell City and Borough on July 1, 2025. That ranks #3,119 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #25 of 30 in Alaska. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 2,125, the population has declined by 118 (−5.6%), compared with +0.5% for Alaska as a whole.
With 2,556.3 square miles of land, that is 0.79 people per square mile (0.3 per km²), placing Wrangell City and Borough #3,171 nationally for density and #15 in Alaska. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Alaska median is 0.73. Put another way, there are about 815 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 2,126 | 2,100 | 2,067 | 2,059 | 2,038 | 2,007 |
| Change | — | −26 | −33 | −8 | −21 | −31 |
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 Wrangell City and Borough
Every resident of Wrangell City and Borough lives within Wrangell city and borough. The city and the county equivalent cover the same territory, 2,556.3 square miles of land in the 2026 place Gazetteer, so there are no separate towns or unincorporated areas to list.
Metropolitan area
Wrangell 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
2 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Wrangell City and Borough, and each lies mostly inside the county.
9990399929
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 Wrangell City and Borough
Wrangell City and Borough shares a land border with 2 county equivalents. Each of them has more land than Wrangell City and Borough. The largest neighbor is Ketchikan Gateway Borough (4,857.1 mi²) and the smallest is Petersburg Borough (2,901.6 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Wrangell City and Borough forms a block of 10,315 mi² of land, of which it holds 24.8%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Wrangell | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 4,857.1 | 1.9× larger | Compare |
| Petersburg Borough | 2,901.6 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
How big is Wrangell City and Borough compared with U.S. states?
Wrangell City and Borough has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 1.3 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 1.9 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Alaska’s county land could hold about 224 areas the size of Wrangell City and Borough.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 50.6 miles (81.4 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 Wrangell City and Borough?
Wrangell City and Borough has more land than 3,009 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 Wrangell City and Borough at #156 nationally by total area, 57 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 26.4%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 25.2 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 Wrangell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| #212 | Washington County, Maine | 2,562.7 | Compare |
| #213 | Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska | 2,556.3 | This county |
| #214 | Baca County, Colorado | 2,555 | 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 56.180779, -132.026788. 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: 6,620,753,066 m²; AWATER: 2,369,444,076 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 Wrangell City and Borough?
Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska has 2,556.3 square miles (6,620.8 km²) of land and 914.8 square miles of water, for a total area of 3,471.1 square miles. It ranks #213 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Wrangell City and Borough the largest county in Alaska?
No. Wrangell City and Borough ranks #26 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 Wrangell City and Borough?
Wrangell City and Borough shares a land border with Ketchikan Gateway Borough and Petersburg Borough.
What is the population of Wrangell City and Borough?
The Census Bureau estimates Wrangell City and Borough had 2,007 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #3,119 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 0.79 people per square mile of land.
Is Wrangell City and Borough part of a metropolitan area?
No. Wrangell City and Borough is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Wrangell City and Borough?
2 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Wrangell City and Borough, and 2 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Wrangell 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 Wrangell City and Borough?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,636,024 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 2,221,526 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.