Best PlacesPrince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Prince of Wales-Hyder 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.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area ranks 2,104th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Prince of Wales-Hyder 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.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area's strengths and weaknesses
Where Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute12.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of counties
Where Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,428, 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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area's effective rate of 0.07%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Prince of Wales-Hyder 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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area.
Who works in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, and how
Work in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area centers on education and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 21%
Life in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area growing, and who is moving in?
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Prince of Wales-Hyder 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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, month by month
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 66 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 37° | 32° |
| April | 54° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 66° | 58° | 52° |
| October | 54° | 47° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
The nearest airport, Klawock, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 716 miles away.
The best schools in and around Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Schools across Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area average a D+, better than 14% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Fawn Mountain ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Craig ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Richard Johnson ElementaryD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schoenbar Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Charles R. Leask Sr. Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Ketchikan High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Craig High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Metlakatla High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Prince of Wales-Hyder 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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Is Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area ranks 2,104th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, heat safety, and low taxes, and lowest on cell coverage and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $241,878. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $64,428 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area safe?
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area is safer than 20% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $742 per resident a year.
Compare Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Prince of Wales-Hyder 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.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Prince of Wales-Hyder 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.