Best PlacesKodiak Island Borough, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kodiak Island Borough, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kodiak Island Borough ranks 628th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kodiak Island Borough
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.
Kodiak Island Borough's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kodiak Island Borough ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute10.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of counties
Where Kodiak Island Borough ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 38 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,219 a month, better than only 9% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kodiak Island Borough
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kodiak Island Borough home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,477, 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 Kodiak Island Borough's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Kodiak Island Borough
Kodiak Island Borough runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kodiak Island Borough.
Who works in Kodiak Island Borough, and how
Work in Kodiak Island Borough centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Kodiak Island Borough
The coast is about 4 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Kodiak Island Borough, which the map shows.
Is Kodiak Island Borough growing, and who is moving in?
Kodiak Island Borough has lost about 9% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hood County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kodiak Island Borough go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kodiak Island Borough, month by month
Kodiak Island Borough sees roughly 38 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 64 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 32° | 26° |
| April | 46° | 39° | 32° |
| July | 64° | 57° | 50° |
| October | 51° | 44° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Kodiak Island Borough
The nearest airport, Kodiak, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 250 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kodiak Island Borough
Schools across Kodiak Island Borough average a B−, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Peterson ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- North Star ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- East ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kodiak Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Kodiak High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kodiak Island Borough school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kodiak Island Borough 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 Kodiak Island Borough against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Kodiak Island Borough
Is Kodiak Island Borough a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kodiak Island Borough ranks 628th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on the weather and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kodiak Island Borough expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $396,683. The overall cost of living runs about 35% above the national average. Set against a $90,477 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Kodiak Island Borough safe?
Kodiak Island Borough is safer than 34% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $630 per resident a year.
Compare Kodiak Island Borough with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kodiak Island Borough. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kodiak Island Borough 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.
Kodiak Island Borough detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kodiak Island Borough: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kodiak Island Borough: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kodiak Island Borough: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kodiak Island Borough: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kodiak Island Borough 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.