Current Population: 2,117 (as of 2010)
Incorporation Type: Home Rule City
Borough Located In: Fairbanks North Star Borough
Taxes: Sales: 3%; Property: 2.3 mills (City); 16.849 mills (Borough); 8% Accommodations Tax (Borough)
City: City of North Pole, 125 Snowman Lane, North Pole, AK 99705, Phone 907-488-2281 , Fax 907-488-3002

In 1944, Bon Davis homesteaded this area. Dahl and Gaske Development Company later bought the Davis homestead, subdivided it, and named it North Pole, hoping to attract a toy manufacturer who would advertise products as being made in North Pole. The Santa Claus House was subsequently developed by the Miller family. Growth from Fairbanks and the nearby Eielson Air Force Base have increased development over the years.

Today it is home to a refinery and a commuter suburb of Fairbanks. Eielson and Wainwright military bases are nearby.  The main street is lined with candy cane shaped light poles and Christmas decorations stay up all year long. Streets bear names like Holiday Road, St. Nicholas Drive and Snowman Lane. Even the city flag and stationery carries a likeness of Santa Claus.

One of the most prominent landmarks in North Pole is the 42-foot-high fiberglass statue of Santa Claus checking his list alongside the Richardson Highway. The figure weighs about 900 pounds and has a 33-foot waist.

The large festive building near the giant jolly old elf is the Santa Claus House. The building, which is a gift shop run by a long-time North Pole family, boasts colorful murals on the outside and it a popular spot for snapshots. Santa Claus is home throughout the year.

Since North Pole is on the Eielson AFB branch line, no passenger trains run this way.  There was a section house at one time.  The Eielson branch serves Ft. Wainwright with coal, a couple of recycle (scrap) yards just this side of post and a cement plant.  In North Pole is the petroleum refinery (shown below), and lastly Eielson (coal and occasionally general freight).  Eielson is planning a major runway rehab plus other construction with the flying mission shut down (the planes are moving to Ft. Wainwright), so they may see more general freight than normal.

North Pole is an incredibly safe place to live. The number of violent crimes reported by the FBI in 2003 was 1. The number of murders and homicides was 0.