Creek Street Historic District · Photo: Jerzystrzelecki · CC BY 3.0Ketchikan spent more per resident in 2022 than 83% of similar cities
Ketchikan’s city government spent $29.9 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $3,707 per resident. Water and other utilities ($22.7 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Ketchikan is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
$3,915 per resident in 2022: more than 83% of them
Ketchikan’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($3,915 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 76 Alaska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,907, and the middle half spent $1,022–$2,827. Ketchikan spent more than 83% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($6.1 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Alaska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Ketchikan itself left out).
About $3,707 per resident a year, or $10.16 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 21%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Day-to-day spending is down 7% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Ketchikan reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $3,915 · 2023: $3,756 · 2024: $3,707.
full-time in March 2025, up from 259 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $2,546 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.72% 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 Ketchikan’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.
Tax bills are one input to Ketchikan’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Ketchikan →
Who’s in charge in Ketchikan
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 29 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (8,068).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
Ketchikan’s K–12 school district, shared with Saxman. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $25,131 per pupil, $15,123 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.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Ketchikan.
- 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 Ketchikan’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Ketchikan’s government
How much does Ketchikan spend per resident?
About $3,707 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $3,915 was more than 83% of 76 Alaska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Ketchikan?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,546 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.72% 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 Ketchikan’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Ketchikan yet.
How many people work for Ketchikan?
277 full-time and 23 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $2.2M (about $25.9M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Ketchikan in the state legislature?
State Senate District A (Bert Stedman) and State House District 1 (Jeremy Bynum). The House district also covers four other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Ketchikan’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; 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 →