Best PlacesSoldotna, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Soldotna, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Soldotna ranks 17,656th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Soldotna
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.
Soldotna's strengths and weaknesses
Where Soldotna ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute19.9 minutes each way, better than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of towns
Where Soldotna ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Soldotna
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Soldotna home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $77,011; 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 Soldotna's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Soldotna
Soldotna 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 Soldotna.
Who works in Soldotna, and how
Work in Soldotna centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Soldotna
Soldotna has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of towns. The coast is about 18 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Soldotna and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Soldotna, month by month
Soldotna sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 67 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 16° | 7° |
| April | 48° | 37° | 26° |
| July | 67° | 58° | 48° |
| October | 47° | 37° | 28° |
Flying in and out of Soldotna
The nearest airport, Kenai Municipal, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around Soldotna
Schools across Soldotna average a B−, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Soldotna Montessori Charter SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Redoubt ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Tustumena ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyview Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Kenai Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- River City AcademyB · 50% proficient
- Soldotna High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Soldotna school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Soldotna 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 Soldotna against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Soldotna
Is Soldotna a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Soldotna ranks 17,656th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on heat safety, clean air, and low taxes, and lowest on disaster risk 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 Soldotna expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $330,443. The overall cost of living runs about 35% above the national average. Set against a $77,011 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Soldotna safe?
Yes, Soldotna is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $419 per resident a year.
Compare Soldotna with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Soldotna. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Soldotna 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.
Soldotna detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Soldotna: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Soldotna: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Soldotna: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Soldotna: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Soldotna 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.