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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Alaska

72.7% coverage

Alaska's WIC program reaches 72.7% of eligible residents — an estimated 16,000 participants out of 22,000 who qualify. That leaves 6,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

22K

WIC eligibles

16K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

6K

Unserved eligibles

30

Counties

Alaska by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Alaska inherits the state's 72.7% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Alaska at a glance

Coverage rate

72.7%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

27.3%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

22K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

16K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

6K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

18K

32.4% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 30 counties in Alaska.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Anchorage 8K
  2. 2 Matanuska-Susitna 3K
  3. 3 Fairbanks North Star 2K
  4. 4 Bethel 2K
  5. 5 Kenai Peninsula 1K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Anchorage 2K
  2. 2 Matanuska-Susitna 841
  3. 3 Fairbanks North Star 598
  4. 4 Bethel 441
  5. 5 Kenai Peninsula 349

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Kusilvak 66.6%
  2. 2 Lake and Peninsula 64.3%
  3. 3 Yukon-Koyukuk 63.5%
  4. 4 Bethel 57.1%
  5. 5 Copper River 56.6%

Every county in Alaska

All 30 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Aleutians East 66 48 18 55 43.3%
Aleutians West 37 27 10 31 22.5%
Anchorage 8,254 6,003 2,251 6,918 30.3%
Bethel 1,617 1,176 441 1,355 57.1%
Bristol Bay 14 10 4 12 16.9%
Chugach 253 184 69 212 38.2%
Copper River 137 100 37 115 56.6%
Denali 31 23 8 26 27.7%
Dillingham 272 198 74 228 49.1%
Fairbanks North Star 2,191 1,593 598 1,836 23.0%
Haines 10 7 3 8 8.2%
Hoonah-Angoon 55 40 15 46 46.5%
Juneau City and 469 341 128 393 21.2%
Kenai Peninsula 1,280 931 349 1,073 26.6%
Ketchikan Gateway 196 142 54 164 20.1%
Kodiak Island 389 283 106 326 36.2%
Kusilvak 960 699 261 805 66.6%
Lake and Peninsula 64 47 17 54 64.3%
Matanuska-Susitna 3,082 2,241 841 2,583 31.8%
Nome 605 440 165 507 54.6%
North Slope 264 192 72 221 30.6%
Northwest Arctic 588 428 160 493 53.9%
Petersburg 57 42 15 48 26.4%
Prince of Wales-Hyder 236 172 64 198 50.8%
Sitka City and 177 128 49 148 34.7%
Skagway 32 23 9 27 37.0%
Southeast Fairbanks 246 179 67 206 34.4%
Wrangell City and 81 59 22 68 45.6%
Yakutat City and 14 10 4 12 38.7%
Yukon-Koyukuk 323 235 88 271 63.5%

Apply for WIC in Alaska

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Alaska's WIC agency.

Alaska WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Alaska.

Families guide

Alaska SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Alaska SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Alaska's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Alaska food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology