The 10 Best Small Towns In Alaska For 2023


The best small towns in Alaska are Farmers Loop and Diamond Ridge for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Alaska. Best sururbs in Alaska. Best counties in Alaska.

Etc., etc., etc.

But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Last Frontier, and no one pays attention to the little guy.

Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Alaska based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.

We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Alaska ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.

Before we get to the top 15, here’s a look at the 10 Best Small Towns To Live in Alaska for 2023.

The 10 Best Small Towns To Live In Alaska For 2023

  1. Farmers Loop
  2. Diamond Ridge
  3. North Pole
  4. Farm Loop
  5. Cordova
  6. Ridgeway
  7. Nome
  8. Haines
  9. Skagway
  10. Butte

What’s the best small town in Alaska? Farmers Loop is the best small town in Alaska based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Farmers Loop, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

But for the rest of you–keep reading, and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list.

For more reading on the Last Frontier check out:

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 15 Best Small Towns In Alaska For 2023

1. Farmers Loop

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 4,216
Median Income: $92,205 (7th Best)
Median Home Value: $296,900 (5th Best)
More on Farmers Loop:

2. Diamond Ridge

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,409
Median Income: $90,208 (10th Best)
Median Home Value: $291,800 (6th Best)
More on Diamond Ridge:

3. North Pole

North Pole, AK

Source: Wikipedia User Dylan Avery | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 2,825
Median Income: $83,524 (12th Best)
Median Home Value: $232,200 (22nd Best)
More on North Pole:

4. Farm Loop

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,549
Median Income: $105,521 (1st Best)
Median Home Value: $314,700 (4th Best)
More on Farm Loop:

5. Cordova

Cordova, AK

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR 2 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 2,588
Median Income: $77,667 (17th Best)
Median Home Value: $336,700 (3rd Best)
More on Cordova:

6. Ridgeway

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,689
Median Income: $93,542 (6th Best)
Median Home Value: $270,900 (11th Best)
More on Ridgeway:

7. Nome

Nome, AK

Source: Wikipedia User ra64 from nome, usa | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,685
Median Income: $91,375 (9th Best)
Median Home Value: $291,300 (7th Best)
More on Nome:

8. Haines

Haines, AK

Source: Flickr User jerseygal2009 | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,571
Median Income: $64,430 (26th Best)
Median Home Value: $261,100 (15th Best)
More on Haines:

9. Skagway

Skagway, AK

Source: Wikipedia User Mike Colvin from Manchester, UK | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,217
Median Income: $83,125 (13th Best)
Median Home Value: $364,600 (2nd Best)
More on Skagway:

10. Butte

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,857
Median Income: $91,471 (8th Best)
Median Home Value: $272,200 (10th Best)
More on Butte:

11. Valdez

Valdez, AK

Source: Wikipedia User Joseph from Cabin On The Road, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 3,966
Median Income: $99,151 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $202,600 (31st Best)
More on Valdez:

12. Unalaska

Unalaska, AK

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 4,339
Median Income: $94,271 (5th Best)
Median Home Value: $412,100 (1st Best)
More on Unalaska:

13. Ester

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,719
Median Income: $67,788 (24th Best)
Median Home Value: $248,100 (18th Best)
More on Ester:

14. Bear Creek

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,524
Median Income: $63,320 (27th Best)
Median Home Value: $225,500 (27th Best)
More on Bear Creek:

15. Goldstream

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,822
Median Income: $68,216 (23rd Best)
Median Home Value: $249,400 (17th Best)
More on Goldstream:

Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Alaska

We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Alaska possible.

Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (Higher is better)
  • Lowest Unemployment Rates
  • Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
  • Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
  • Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
  • Commute Times (Lower is better)

We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 44 to be exact.

We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 44, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Alaska. Top of that list — Farmers Loop.

This is our tenth time ranking the best small places to live in Alaska.

Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones

We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these 15 small towns in Alaska are the best in which to live.

And who can argue with that?

If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in Alaska:

  1. Emmonak
  2. Alakanuk
  3. Houston

For more Alaska reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Small Towns In Alaska

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Value
1 Farmers Loop, AK 4,216 $92,205 $296,900
2 Diamond Ridge, AK 1,409 $90,208 $291,800
3 North Pole, AK 2,825 $83,524 $232,200
4 Farm Loop, AK 2,549 $105,521 $314,700
5 Cordova, AK 2,588 $77,667 $336,700
6 Ridgeway, AK 2,689 $93,542 $270,900
7 Nome, AK 3,685 $91,375 $291,300
8 Haines, AK 1,571 $64,430 $261,100
9 Skagway, AK 1,217 $83,125 $364,600
10 Butte, AK 3,857 $91,471 $272,200
11 Valdez, AK 3,966 $99,151 $202,600
12 Unalaska, AK 4,339 $94,271 $412,100
13 Ester, AK 2,719 $67,788 $248,100
14 Bear Creek, AK 1,524 $63,320 $225,500
15 Goldstream, AK 2,822 $68,216 $249,400
16 Seward, AK 2,614 $75,050 $241,600
17 Fritz Creek, AK 2,145 $70,987 $283,600
18 Lazy Mountain, AK 1,766 $79,934 $279,700
19 Dillingham, AK 2,133 $82,604 $265,200
20 Kotzebue, AK 3,199 $95,385 $246,400
21 Sand Point, AK 1,164 $75,625 $180,900
22 Soldotna, AK 4,370 $60,833 $219,300
23 Craig, AK 1,102 $61,875 $226,500
24 Salamatof, AK 1,165 $79,844 $268,800
25 Deltana, AK 2,022 $100,707 $226,900
26 Delta Junction, AK 1,259 $71,765 $222,800
27 Point Mackenzie, AK 1,364 $83,828 $261,700
28 Wrangell, AK 2,162 $54,891 $230,800
29 Funny River, AK 1,005 $55,023 $172,000
30 Nikiski, AK 4,232 $60,913 $255,300
31 King Cove, AK 1,238 $71,591 $109,600
32 Kotlik, AK 1,247 $47,833 $57,300
33 Metlakatla, AK 1,445 $58,229 $155,600
34 Tok, AK 1,315 $43,047 $182,600
35 Sutton-Alpine, AK 1,228 $64,688 $210,300
36 Willow, AK 1,965 $60,104 $227,800
37 Big Lake, AK 2,888 $57,157 $244,800
38 Cohoe, AK 1,557 $56,875 $188,500
39 Anchor Point, AK 2,288 $54,024 $188,900
40 Tuntutuliak, AK 1,072 $42,875 $71,100
41 Susitna North, AK 1,193 $38,750 $183,400
42 Houston, AK 1,739 $53,409 $185,500
43 Alakanuk, AK 1,065 $36,429 $122,900
44 Emmonak, AK 1,005 $42,321 $106,500
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.