Best PlacesWest Juneau, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Juneau, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Juneau ranks 3,804th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Juneau
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.
West Juneau's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Juneau ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute15.0 minutes each way, better than 97% of towns
- TransitBetter than 94% of towns
Where West Juneau ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 28 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,133 a month, better than only 15% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Juneau
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Juneau home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,517, 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 West Juneau's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 West Juneau
West Juneau'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 West Juneau.
Who works in West Juneau, and how
Work in West Juneau centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in West Juneau
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West Juneau, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Juneau, month by month
West Juneau sees roughly 28 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 67 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 31° | 26° |
| April | 50° | 41° | 33° |
| July | 67° | 59° | 51° |
| October | 49° | 43° | 36° |
Flying in and out of West Juneau
The nearest airport, Juneau International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 575 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Juneau
Schools across West Juneau average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Montessori Borealis Public Alternative SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dzantik'i Heeni Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Thunder Mountain High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Juneau-douglas High School: Yadaa.at KaltB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Juneau school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Juneau 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 West Juneau against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Juneau
Is West Juneau a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Juneau ranks 3,804th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on the weather and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Juneau expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $501,998. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $98,517 median income, cost of living beats 56% of towns.
Is West Juneau safe?
Yes, West Juneau is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $406 per resident a year.
Compare West Juneau with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Juneau. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Juneau 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.
West Juneau detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Juneau: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Juneau: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Juneau: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Juneau: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Juneau 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.