Best PlacesBuffalo Soapstone, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Buffalo Soapstone, 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.
Buffalo Soapstone ranks 6,720th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Buffalo Soapstone
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.
Buffalo Soapstone's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buffalo Soapstone ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of towns
Where Buffalo Soapstone ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,157 a month, better than only 14% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Buffalo Soapstone
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buffalo Soapstone home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $94,808; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Buffalo Soapstone's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Buffalo Soapstone
Buffalo Soapstone runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Buffalo Soapstone.
Who works in Buffalo Soapstone, and how
Work in Buffalo Soapstone centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Buffalo Soapstone
The coast is about 27 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Buffalo Soapstone, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Buffalo Soapstone, month by month
Buffalo Soapstone sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 71 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 50° | 40° | 29° |
| July | 71° | 60° | 51° |
| October | 46° | 37° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Buffalo Soapstone
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around Buffalo Soapstone
Schools across Buffalo Soapstone average a B−, better than 52% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- John Shaw ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Sutton ElementaryD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Colony Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Palmer Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Colony High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Palmer High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buffalo Soapstone school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buffalo Soapstone 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 Buffalo Soapstone against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Buffalo Soapstone
Is Buffalo Soapstone a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buffalo Soapstone ranks 6,720th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on cell coverage and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Buffalo Soapstone expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $387,800. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $94,808 median income, cost of living beats 47% of towns.
Is Buffalo Soapstone safe?
Yes, Buffalo Soapstone is safer than 98% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $213 per resident a year.
Compare Buffalo Soapstone with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buffalo Soapstone. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buffalo Soapstone 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.
Buffalo Soapstone detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buffalo Soapstone: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buffalo Soapstone: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buffalo Soapstone: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buffalo Soapstone: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buffalo Soapstone 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.