The municipality is one of few in the country which has not been amalgamated since it was created out of a parish when the first local government acts of Sweden were implemented in 1863.

Not until late in the Bronze Age (10th century BC) did parts of what is now Älvkarleby begin to rise out of the Baltic Sea.

In the Early Iron Age (6th-12th century) the population began to grow and people supported themselves on farming, hunting, fishing and livestock.

The results of the Sweden Democrats were not published by the SCB between 1988 and 1998 due to the party's small size nationally so has been denoted as "0.0".

Älvkarleby has traditionally seen outright majorities for the Social Democrats, although in 2010 and 2014 the party fell just short of 50% of ballots cast in the municipality.