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Alaska is not divided into counties but rather into organized and the
so-called unorganized borough. Organized
boroughs are similar to counties, however, and each of the such units are
supervised by a small assembly. The unorganized borough includes more than 80%
of the state's area but less than 20% of its population. It is administered by
the state government; for statistical purposes it is divided into census
areas (divisions).
Use of the
term "borough" was
a controversial part of Alaska's Constitutional plan and
debated at length by the
delegates. It
was adopted largely to avoid legal and political
connotations of the traditional county. Alaska’s boroughs were intended to be
more versatile and powerful than counties. The
failure of some local economies to generate enough revenue to support separate
counties was an important issue. The desire to use a model that would
reflect the unique character of Alaska was another.
For the most part,
organized boroughs were formed in those areas where economies were better
developed. The large portion of the state that has not incorporated as an
organized borough is designated the unorganized borough.
The primary difference between boroughs and
census areas
is that boroughs have an organized area-wide government, while
census areas
do not. The entire area of the state outside of organized boroughs is treated as
one large unorganized borough. In addition, census areas
are not defined by the State, but rather by the United States Census Bureau.
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