Living in Big Lake, AK
Big Lake is a small town of 3,585 people in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. It's about 33 miles from Anchorage, AK and 1,445 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 69°F and winter highs 17°F, with about 65 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $299k and rent runs about $1k a month.
3,585people
$299kTypical home
$1,235/moRent
69° / 17°Summer / winter
65"Snow
144Sunny days
118Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 3,585
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 31 people per sq mi
- 1,445 mi to Seattle, WA
- 33 mi to Anchorage, AK
- 12 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $299k (≈$1,884/mo)
- Median rent $1,235/mo
- Median household income $81k
- Property tax about 1.1% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 69°F
- Winter highs around 17°F
- Dry summers (dew point 49°F)
- 144 sunny days a year (30 totally clear)
- 221 cloudy days a year
- 47 of 90 winter days are gray
- 118 days a year with rain or snow
- 65" of snow a year
- 20 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 95 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (321 per 100k), county-wide
- Above-average property crime (2,624 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 39
- 32% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 18% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 41 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 21 mi to MRI airport
- 23 mi to ANC (major hub)
- 89% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1993
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 220 ft
- 8 mi to the ocean
- 74 mi to a big lake
- 8 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 17 mi to the nearest ski area
- 6 mi to the nearest campground
- 5 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 116 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 21 bars within 25 mi
- 58 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 12 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 19 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 50% of Alaska districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 18 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 18 mi to the nearest vet
- 10 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 19 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough: R+14 in 2024
- Alaska: R+14 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- High volcano risk