Best PlacesNome Census Area, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Nome 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.
Nome Census Area ranks 2,046th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nome 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.
Nome Census Area's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nome Census Area ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute6.4 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of counties
Where Nome Census Area ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Nome Census Area
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nome Census Area home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,215, 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 Nome Census Area's effective rate of 0.30%, 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 Nome Census Area
Nome Census Area runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Nome Census Area.
Who works in Nome Census Area, and how
Work in Nome 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 43%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 52%
Life in Nome Census Area
Nome Census Area has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Nome Census Area and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Nome Census Area growing, and who is moving in?
Nome Census Area has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Anchorage, AK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Nome 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 Nome Census Area, month by month
Nome Census Area sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 59 degrees. January highs sit near 17, with lows near 0. No month averages between 55 and 75 degrees.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17° | 9° | 0° |
| April | 32° | 25° | 15° |
| July | 59° | 53° | 46° |
| October | 40° | 34° | 27° |
Flying in and out of Nome Census Area
The nearest airport, Nome, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 530 miles away.
The best schools in and around Nome Census Area
Schools across Nome Census Area average a D, better than 7% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Nome ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Anvil City Science AcademyC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Nome-beltz Middle/highF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nome Census Area school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nome 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 Nome Census Area against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Nome Census Area
Is Nome Census Area a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nome Census Area ranks 2,046th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nome Census Area expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $198,919. The overall cost of living runs about 34% above the national average. Set against a $80,215 median income, cost of living beats 4% of counties.
Is Nome Census Area safe?
Nome Census Area is safer than 5% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,052 per resident a year.
Compare Nome Census Area with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nome Census Area. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nome 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.
Nome Census Area detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nome Census Area: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nome Census Area: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nome Census Area: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nome Census Area: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nome 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.