Best Places99766, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99766, 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.
99766 ranks 25,295th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 99766
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.
99766's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99766 ranks high
- Short commute4.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 99766 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99766
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99766 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,142, 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 99766's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99766
99766 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99766.
Who works in 99766, and how
Work in 99766 centers on education and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 40%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 58%
Life in 99766
The coast is about 3 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 99766, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99766, month by month
99766 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 52 degrees. January highs sit near 10, with lows near -3. No month averages between 55 and 75 degrees.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10° | 4° | -3° |
| April | 24° | 16° | 7° |
| July | 52° | 47° | 43° |
| October | 37° | 33° | 28° |
Flying in and out of 99766
The nearest airport, Point Hope, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 683 miles away.
The best schools in and around 99766
Schools across 99766 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- June Nelson ElementaryF · 10% proficient
- Fred Ipalook ElementaryF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Kotzebue Middle/high SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Barrow High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99766 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99766 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 99766 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99766
Is 99766 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99766 ranks 25,295th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and low disaster risk, and lowest on a weak job market and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99766 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $157,428. The overall cost of living runs about 43% above the national average. Set against a $90,142 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 99766 safe?
99766 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,369 per resident a year.
Compare 99766 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99766. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99766 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.
99766 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99766: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99766: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99766: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99766: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99766 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.