Best PlacesElmendorf Afb, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmendorf Afb, 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.
Elmendorf Afb ranks 17,287th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elmendorf Afb
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.
Elmendorf Afb's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmendorf Afb ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute12.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of towns
Where Elmendorf Afb ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,588 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elmendorf Afb
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmendorf Afb home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,814, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Elmendorf Afb's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elmendorf Afb
Elmendorf Afb runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elmendorf Afb.
Who works in Elmendorf Afb, and how
Work in Elmendorf Afb centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Elmendorf Afb
Elmendorf Afb has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of towns and more parkland per resident than 96% of towns. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Elmendorf Afb and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Elmendorf Afb, month by month
Elmendorf Afb sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 48° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| October | 45° | 37° | 29° |
Flying in and out of Elmendorf Afb
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 7 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elmendorf Afb
Schools across Elmendorf Afb average a B+, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Orion Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Aurora ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Knik Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Middle School Of ScienceD+ · 25% proficient
- Nicholas J. Begich Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Clark Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- West High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Bartlett High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmendorf Afb school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmendorf Afb 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 Elmendorf Afb against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elmendorf Afb
Is Elmendorf Afb a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmendorf Afb ranks 17,287th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, heat safety, and low taxes, and lowest on childcare costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elmendorf Afb expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,488. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $75,814 median income, cost of living beats 16% of towns.
Is Elmendorf Afb safe?
Elmendorf Afb is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $945 per resident a year.
Compare Elmendorf Afb with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmendorf Afb. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmendorf Afb 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.
Elmendorf Afb detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmendorf Afb: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmendorf Afb: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmendorf Afb: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmendorf Afb: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmendorf Afb 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.