Best PlacesSouth Van Horn, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Van Horn, 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 Van Horn ranks 27,140th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Van Horn
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 Van Horn's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Van Horn ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute15.0 minutes each way, better than 97% of towns
- Household income$106,667 median, better than 88% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of towns
Where South Van Horn ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,521 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of towns
Who lives in South Van Horn
South Van Horn runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Van Horn.
Who works in South Van Horn, and how
Work in South Van Horn centers on hospitality & food and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in South Van Horn
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Van Horn.
What the weather is like in South Van Horn, month by month
South Van Horn sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 5, with lows near -16. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5° | -5° | -16° |
| April | 45° | 33° | 19° |
| July | 75° | 64° | 52° |
| October | 38° | 29° | 21° |
Flying in and out of South Van Horn
The nearest airport, Fairbanks International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 261 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Van Horn
Schools across South Van Horn average a C+, better than 44% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Arctic Light ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Hunter ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ryan Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Lathrop High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Van Horn school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Van Horn 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 Van Horn against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Van Horn
Is South Van Horn a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Van Horn ranks 27,140th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Van Horn safe?
South Van Horn is safer than 3% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,131 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Van Horn?
July highs average about 75 degrees, and January highs near 5 with lows near -16. That works out to about 121 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of towns.
Compare South Van Horn with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Van Horn. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Van Horn 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 Van Horn detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Van Horn: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Van Horn: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Van Horn: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Van Horn: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Van Horn 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.
- 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.