Best Places99611, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99611, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99611 ranks 13,682nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99611
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
99611's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99611 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute20.2 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 99611 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99611
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99611 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,307, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 99611's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99611
99611 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99611.
Who works in 99611, and how
Work in 99611 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 99611
99611 has more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 99611 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99611, month by month
99611 sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 65 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 9° |
| April | 46° | 37° | 26° |
| July | 65° | 56° | 48° |
| October | 47° | 38° | 29° |
Flying in and out of 99611
The nearest airport, Kenai Municipal, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around 99611
Schools across 99611 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Aurora Borealis Charter SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Tustumena ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Kaleidoscope School Of Arts & ScienceC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyview Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Kenai Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- River City AcademyB · 50% proficient
- Kenai Central High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Nikiski Middle/senior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99611 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99611 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 99611 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99611
Is 99611 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99611 ranks 13,682nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, clean air, and low taxes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99611 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $296,494. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $79,307 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 99611 safe?
Yes, 99611 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $448 per resident a year.
Compare 99611 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99611. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99611 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
99611 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99611: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99611: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99611: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99611: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99611 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.