The North Pole is not located within any country or U.S. state; it lies in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, on sea ice, at latitude 90° North.

Quick Scoop

  • The geographic North Pole is the northern end of Earth’s axis of rotation, about 450 miles (725 km) north of Greenland, in international waters.
  • Because it sits in the Arctic Ocean, it is not part of any nation’s territory or any U.S. state such as Alaska.
  • Nearby land areas include northern Greenland and Canada’s Ellesmere Island, but the pole itself remains offshore on shifting sea ice.

So if a quiz asks “Which state is the North Pole located in?”, the correct idea is that it is in no state at all, but in the Arctic Ocean at 90° N.

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