Best PlacesCopper River Census Area, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Copper River Census Area, 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.
Copper River Census Area ranks 2,442nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Copper River Census Area
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.
Copper River Census Area's strengths and weaknesses
Where Copper River Census Area ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
Where Copper River Census Area ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 2% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Copper River Census Area
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Copper River Census Area home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,332, 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 Copper River Census Area's effective rate of 0.04%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Copper River Census Area
Copper River Census Area runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Copper River Census Area.
Who works in Copper River Census Area, and how
Work in Copper River Census Area centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Copper River Census Area
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Copper River Census Area.
Is Copper River Census Area growing, and who is moving in?
Copper River Census Area has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Anchorage, AK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Copper River Census Area go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Copper River Census Area, month by month
Copper River Census Area sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 73 degrees. January highs sit near 10, with lows near -10. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10° | 0° | -10° |
| April | 46° | 34° | 20° |
| July | 73° | 60° | 46° |
| October | 39° | 28° | 18° |
Flying in and out of Copper River Census Area
The nearest airport, Valdez Pioneer Field, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 174 miles away.
The best schools in and around Copper River Census Area
Schools across Copper River Census Area average a D+, better than 12% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Glennallen ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Tanacross SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Glennallen Jr/sr High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Copper River Census Area school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Copper River Census Area 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 Copper River Census Area against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Copper River Census Area
Is Copper River Census Area a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Copper River Census Area ranks 2,442nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Copper River Census Area expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $295,132. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $79,332 median income, cost of living beats 13% of counties.
Is Copper River Census Area safe?
Copper River Census Area is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,329 per resident a year.
Compare Copper River Census Area with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Copper River Census Area. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Copper River Census Area 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.
Copper River Census Area detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Copper River Census Area: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Copper River Census Area: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Copper River Census Area: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Copper River Census Area: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Copper River Census Area 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.