Best PlacesSouth Naknek, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Naknek, 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.
South Naknek ranks 27,061st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Naknek
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.
South Naknek's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Naknek ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute9.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
Where South Naknek ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Naknek
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Naknek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,625, 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 South Naknek's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Naknek
South Naknek'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 South Naknek.
Who works in South Naknek, and how
Work in South Naknek centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in South Naknek
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South Naknek, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Naknek, month by month
South Naknek sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 64 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 12° |
| April | 43° | 35° | 27° |
| July | 64° | 56° | 48° |
| October | 46° | 39° | 31° |
Flying in and out of South Naknek
The nearest airport, King Salmon, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 298 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Naknek
Schools across South Naknek average a D−, better than 3% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Naknek ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Bristol Bay Middle/high SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Naknek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Naknek 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 South Naknek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Naknek
Is South Naknek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Naknek ranks 27,061st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on clean air, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Naknek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,800. The overall cost of living runs about 38% above the national average. Set against a $95,625 median income, cost of living beats 32% of towns.
Is South Naknek safe?
South Naknek is safer than 2% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,261 per resident a year.
Compare South Naknek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Naknek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Naknek 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.
South Naknek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Naknek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Naknek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Naknek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Naknek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Naknek 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.