Best PlacesSitka City and Borough, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sitka City and Borough, 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.
Sitka City and Borough ranks 413th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Sitka City and 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.
Sitka City and Borough's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sitka City and Borough ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute13.0 minutes each way, better than 98% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
Where Sitka City and Borough ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,987 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 53 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sitka City and Borough
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sitka City and Borough home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,909, 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 Sitka City and Borough's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 Sitka City and Borough
Sitka City and Borough's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Sitka City and Borough.
Who works in Sitka City and Borough, and how
Work in Sitka City and Borough centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Sitka City and Borough
Sitka City and Borough has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of counties and more parkland per resident than 68% of counties. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sitka City and Borough and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sitka City and Borough growing, and who is moving in?
Sitka City and Borough has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Anchorage, AK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sitka City and Borough go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sitka City and Borough, month by month
Sitka City and Borough sees roughly 53 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 63 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 35° | 31° |
| April | 50° | 41° | 35° |
| July | 63° | 56° | 52° |
| October | 51° | 44° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Sitka City and Borough
The nearest airport, Sitka Rocky Gutierrez, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 591 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sitka City and Borough
Schools across Sitka City and Borough average a B, better than 71% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Keet Gooshi Heen ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Blatchley Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Sitka High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Mt. Edgecumbe High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Pacific High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sitka City and Borough school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sitka City and 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 Sitka City and Borough against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sitka City and Borough
Is Sitka City and Borough a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sitka City and Borough ranks 413th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, low taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sitka City and Borough expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $449,528. The overall cost of living runs about 52% above the national average. Set against a $97,909 median income, cost of living beats 12% of counties.
Is Sitka City and Borough safe?
Sitka City and Borough is safer than 23% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $718 per resident a year.
Compare Sitka City and Borough with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sitka City and Borough. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sitka City and 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.
Sitka City and Borough detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sitka City and Borough: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sitka City and Borough: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sitka City and Borough: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sitka City and Borough: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sitka City and 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.