States · Alaska · Fairbanks North Star Borough

College, Alaska.

A community in Fairbanks North Star Borough, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Fairbanks North Star Borough’s.

Living in College, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska

College, in Fairbanks North Star Borough, had 11,332 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $83,895 a year and half less, against $88,267 across Fairbanks North Star Borough; 6% of its people live below the poverty line. 61% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 39% are rented. Unemployment in Fairbanks North Star Borough was 3.1% in August 2026, and the county had 0.2% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then restaurants and hotels.

People 11,332 in the 2020 census; median age 32.7
Household income $83,895 the median, give or take $7,673 · Fairbanks North Star Borough: $88,267
Unemployment 3.1% Fairbanks North Star Borough, August 2026; 3.1% a year before
Homes 61% lived in by their owners; 39% rented
  • 4,626households
  • 40%of adults have a degree
  • 6%below the poverty line
  • 16 mintypical commute
  • 5%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care34%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment13%
  • Government11%
  • Professional and business services10%
  • Other services7%
  • Shops (retail)6%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Fairbanks North Star Borough had 37,074 jobs in 2025, 0.2% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 2° and -12°; warmest in July, 71° and 51° -20° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 2° -12° F M A M J J 71° 51° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 2° and -12°; warmest in July, 71° and 51° -20° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 2° -12° F M A M J J 71° 51° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 2° and lows near -12°; warmest in July, with highs near 71° and lows near 51°. About 64 inches of snow and 13 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the College Obsy weather station, a mile away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in College

  1. University of Alaska FairbanksUniversity or college2,605
  2. State of Alaska203
  3. Yukon-Koyukuk School DistrictSchool district173FTE
  4. State of Alaska99
  5. Fairbanks Princess Riverside LodgeHotels and motels98
  6. Brice Inc - Fairbanks OfficeConstruction management, highway, road, street and bridge88
  7. Fairbanks Main OfficeMail and parcel delivery55
  8. State of Alaska46

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 9 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 679 people in all. Colleges come from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Winter weatherVery high
  2. Cold wavesVery high
  3. EarthquakesVery high
  4. LightningRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in College’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Fairbanks North Star Borough.