Ambler, AK
Northwest Arctic County · Alaska · United States
Home to 201 people across 10.279 square miles.
At a glance
99786 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 99786 is
| Coordinates | 67.090944, -157.887097 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/Anchorage |
| County | Northwest Arctic County |
| State | Alaska (AK) |
| Land area | 10.279 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/Anchorage
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| Seattle, WA | 1841.0 mi |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 2447.9 mi |
| Denver, CO | 2742.7 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2775.5 mi |
People
Who lives in 99786
201 residents in 76 households, averaging 2.64 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 32.3% of residents, and 72.4% of households are families.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 76 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.64 |
| Family households | 72.4% |
| Living alone | 19.7% |
| Median age | 33.8 years |
| Households with internet | 57.9% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 99786
The median household here earns $41,563 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 99786 ahead of 7% of American ZIP codes. 31.3% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $41,563 ±$19,886 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $16,320 |
| Poverty rate | 31.3% |
| Unemployment rate | 29.3% |
| Labor force participation | 29.7% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 5.6% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 65.9% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 99786
A typical home is valued at $86,700, and median rent runs $475 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 86.8% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1990.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $86,700 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $475/mo |
| Median year built | 1990 |
| Housing units | 109 |
| Vacancy rate | 30.3% |
Own vs. rent
Of 76 occupied units
| Owner households | 66 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 10 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 99786 commutes
65.5% of workers walked, and the average one-way trip takes 5.4 minutes. 17.2% work from home.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 5.4 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 99786
ZIP code 99786 is assigned to Ambler, AK, and falls within Northwest Arctic County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 201 people live inside it.
At 20 residents per square mile spread over 10.279 square miles, 99786 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings are well below the national median. At $41,563, 99786 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 7% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Ambler looks like
Housing in 99786 costs well below the national median. A typical home is valued at $86,700 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $475 a month. Ownership dominates: 86.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 97.2% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1990, making the housing here from the later twentieth century. The vacancy rate of 30.3% is high, which in many places reflects seasonal or second-home use rather than abandonment.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 33.8 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.64 people, and 72.4% are family households.
Getting to work takes 5.4 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is walked at 65.5% of workers, while 65.5% walk, 17.2% work from home. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Ambler, AK
99786 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.
Local costs are modest — median rent here is $475 a month — and accommodation prices in the area tend to be correspondingly reasonable. For reference, Seattle, WA is about 1841.0 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
Opens Booking.com in a new tab. We are not affiliated with Booking.com and receive nothing from this link.
Practical uses
What ZIP code 99786 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 99786 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 99786 offers a compact profile of Ambler: 201 residents, a median household income of $41,563, 5.6% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 29.3%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 99786 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Ambler may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 99786
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Alaska ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
More in Northwest Arctic County
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Questions
Common questions about 99786
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 99786. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).