Best PlacesPetersburg Census Area, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Petersburg 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.
Petersburg Census Area ranks 750th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Petersburg 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.
Petersburg Census Area's strengths and weaknesses
Where Petersburg Census Area ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute6.8 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of counties
Where Petersburg Census Area ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 50 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,270 a month, better than only 8% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Petersburg Census Area
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Petersburg Census Area home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,185, 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 Petersburg Census Area's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Petersburg Census Area
Petersburg 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 Petersburg Census Area.
Who works in Petersburg Census Area, and how
Work in Petersburg Census Area centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 27%
Life in Petersburg Census Area
The coast is about 6 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Petersburg Census Area, which the map shows.
Is Petersburg Census Area growing, and who is moving in?
Petersburg Census Area has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Price County, WI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Petersburg 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 Petersburg Census Area, month by month
Petersburg Census Area sees roughly 50 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 64 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 33° | 28° |
| April | 50° | 42° | 34° |
| July | 64° | 57° | 51° |
| October | 50° | 43° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Petersburg Census Area
The nearest airport, Petersburg James A Johnson, is about 0 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 676 miles away.
The best schools in and around Petersburg Census Area
Schools across Petersburg Census Area average a B+, better than 86% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Rae C. Stedman ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mitkof Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Petersburg High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Petersburg Census Area school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Petersburg 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 Petersburg Census Area against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Petersburg Census Area
Is Petersburg Census Area a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Petersburg Census Area ranks 750th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, 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 Petersburg Census Area expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $303,747. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $79,185 median income, cost of living beats 8% of counties.
Is Petersburg Census Area safe?
Petersburg Census Area is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $853 per resident a year.
Compare Petersburg Census Area with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Petersburg Census Area. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Petersburg 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.
Petersburg Census Area detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Petersburg Census Area: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Petersburg Census Area: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Petersburg Census Area: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Petersburg Census Area: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Petersburg 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.