Best PlacesChenega, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chenega, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chenega ranks 32,358th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chenega
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.
Chenega's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chenega ranks high
- Short commute7.3 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
Where Chenega ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 23 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chenega
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chenega home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,750, 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 Chenega's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chenega
Chenega runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chenega.
Who works in Chenega, and how
Work in Chenega centers on manufacturing and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 44%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 45%
Life in Chenega
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chenega.
What the weather is like in Chenega, month by month
Chenega sees roughly 23 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 65 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 27° | 22° |
| April | 48° | 39° | 31° |
| July | 65° | 56° | 50° |
| October | 49° | 41° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Chenega
The nearest airport, Merle K (Mudhole) Smith, is about 90 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chenega
Schools across Chenega average a B, better than 65% of towns.
Top high schools
- Focus HomeschoolB+ · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chenega school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chenega 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 Chenega against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chenega
Is Chenega a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chenega ranks 32,358th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and clean air, and lowest on the weather and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chenega expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $85,000. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $58,750 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Chenega safe?
Chenega is safer than 9% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $947 per resident a year.
Compare Chenega with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chenega. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chenega 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.
Chenega detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chenega: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chenega: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chenega: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chenega: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chenega 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.