Photo: National Park Service · Public domainHow is Ambler run?
Ambler’s city government spent $2.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $9,614 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Ambler didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Ambler is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
Northwest Arctic Borough School District
Ambler’s K–12 school district, shared with Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk and more. The schools are run by Ambler, so this money is part of the budget above.
Of the $44,063 per pupil, $14,647 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Alaska districts overall: 24% local, 55% state, 21% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $9,614 per resident a year, or $26.34 a day
Schools are part of the city’s budget, so they lead the receipt: 84% of day-to-day spending.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Ambler runs its own schools, so school spending is part of this budget.
Ambler didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Ambler yet
Every year of Ambler’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $199 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.21% of the home’s value, vs 1.11% across Alaska.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Ambler’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Ambler’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Ambler →
Who’s in charge in Ambler
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 130 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (259).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Ambler.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Alaska HouseState representatives
- 3Alaska SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Alaska
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Ambler’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Ambler’s government
How much does Ambler spend per resident?
About $9,614 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Ambler didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $2.9 million.
What is the property tax rate in Ambler?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $199 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.21% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.11% across Alaska. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Ambler’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Ambler yet.
How many people work for Ambler?
2 full-time and 3 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $24,345 (about $292,140 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Ambler in the state legislature?
State Senate District T (Donny Olson) and State House District 40 (Robyn Frier). The House district also covers 16 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Ambler’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Ambler, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →