Best PlacesEagle River, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Eagle River, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Eagle River ranks 211th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Eagle River
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.
Eagle River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Eagle River ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 94% of cities
Where Eagle River ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 10% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Eagle River
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Eagle River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $146,785, 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 Eagle River's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Eagle River
Eagle River runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Eagle River.
Who works in Eagle River, and how
Work in Eagle River centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Eagle River
Eagle River has more parkland per resident than 85% of cities. The coast is about 12 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Eagle River and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Eagle River, month by month
Eagle River sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 70 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 15° | 6° |
| April | 48° | 38° | 26° |
| July | 70° | 60° | 50° |
| October | 45° | 35° | 26° |
Flying in and out of Eagle River
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 18 miles away.
The best schools in and around Eagle River
Schools across Eagle River average a B, better than 65% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Eagle Academy Charter SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Chugiak ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Ravenwood ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gruening Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Mirror Lake Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Eagle River High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Chugiak High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Eagle River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Eagle River 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 Eagle River against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Eagle River suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of cities and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Eagle River
Is Eagle River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Eagle River ranks 211th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on heat safety, low taxes, and a stable housing market, 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 Eagle River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $432,841. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $146,785 median income, cost of living beats 82% of cities.
Is Eagle River safe?
Yes, Eagle River is safer than 66% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $449 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Eagle River?
July highs average about 70 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 6. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 61% of cities.
Is Eagle River good for families?
Schools beat 65% of cities, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,590 a month.
Compare Eagle River with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Eagle River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Eagle River 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.
Eagle River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Eagle River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Eagle River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Eagle River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Eagle River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Eagle River 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.