Best PlacesPort Lions, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Port Lions, 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.
Port Lions ranks 39,630th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Port Lions
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.
Port Lions' strengths and weaknesses
Where Port Lions ranks high
- Short commute2.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
Where Port Lions ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 36 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$40,110 median, better than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Port Lions
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Port Lions home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $40,110; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Port Lions' effective rate of 0.72%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Port Lions
Port Lions 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 Port Lions.
Who works in Port Lions, and how
Work in Port Lions centers on public administration and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment runs well above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in Port Lions
The coast is about 18 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Port Lions, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Port Lions, month by month
Port Lions sees roughly 36 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 Port Lions
The nearest airport, Kodiak, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 247 miles away.
The best schools in and around Port Lions
Schools across Port Lions average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Peterson ElementaryA · 68% 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 Port Lions school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Port Lions 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 Port Lions against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Port Lions
Is Port Lions a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Port Lions ranks 39,630th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on the weather and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Port Lions expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,847. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $40,110 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Port Lions safe?
Port Lions is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $962 per resident a year.
Compare Port Lions with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Port Lions. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Port Lions 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.
Port Lions detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Port Lions: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Port Lions: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Port Lions: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Port Lions: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Port Lions 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.