Yes, there are polar bears in Alaska, but they live only in specific far‑north coastal and sea‑ice areas and most visitors never see one in the wild.

Where polar bears live in Alaska

  • Polar bears in the United States occur only in Alaska, not in any other state.
  • They use Arctic coastlines and nearby sea ice, especially along the Chukchi Sea (northwest Alaska) and Southern Beaufort Sea (far north/northeast Alaska).
  • Typical areas include remote communities and coastlines like Kaktovik and other North Slope villages where bears come ashore as sea ice retreats in late summer and fall.

How many and how often seen

  • Scientists recognize two main subpopulations that use Alaska: the Chukchi Sea group (around 3,000 bears) and the Southern Beaufort Sea group (around 900 bears), though many of these stay on offshore sea ice rather than land in Alaska.
  • On the actual northern Alaska coast in late summer and autumn, only a small fraction of those bears are present at any one time (roughly in the low hundreds), which is why casual travelers rarely encounter them unless they go specifically to polar‑bear hotspots with guides.

So if you are wondering “are there polar bears in Alaska,” the answer is yes—but mainly in the remote Arctic coastal zone and associated sea ice, not in the forests or cities most travelers see.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.