Other villages in Øksnes include Alsvåg, Barkestad, Breidstrand, Nyksund, Strengelvåg, and Stø.

On 1 January 1866, a small area of southern Øksnes (population: 40) was transferred to the neighboring Bø Municipality.

On 1 July 1919, the northeastern part of Øksnes along the Gavlfjorden (population: 1,085) was separated to form the new Langenes Municipality.

The official blazon is "Or two hooks addorsed sable" (Norwegian: I gull to adosserte svarte angler).

Øksnes municipality encompasses the northwestern part of the island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago.

The large lake Alsvågvatnet lies near this flat area, just east of the village of Alsvåg.

This flat area lies just to the north of the 762.46-metre (2,501.5 ft) tall mountain Snøkolla, which is the highest point in the municipality.

An area of about 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) at the north-eastern end of the island, comprising coastal lagoons, fens, transition mires, springs and mudflats, including the Grunnfjorden nature reserve and Grunnfjorden Ramsar site as well as other wetlands, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International (BLI) because it supports populations of pink-footed and barnacle geese on passage migration.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Øksnes is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms.