Living in Ketchikan, AK
Ketchikan is a big small town of 8,078 people in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. It's about 600 miles from Bellingham, WA and 667 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 64°F and winter highs 38°F, with about 35 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $352k and rent runs about $1k a month.
8,078people
$352kTypical home
$1,417/moRent
64° / 38°Summer / winter
35"Snow
116Sunny days
239Rain/snow days
Is Ketchikan right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Big small town of 8,078
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 2,109 people per sq mi
- 667 mi to Seattle, WA
- 600 mi to Bellingham, WA
- 229 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $352k (≈$2,222/mo)
- Median rent $1,417/mo
- Median household income $85k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 64°F
- Winter highs around 38°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
- 116 sunny days a year (38 totally clear)
- 249 cloudy days a year
- 58 of 90 winter days are gray
- 239 days a year with rain or snow
- 35" of snow a year
- 11 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 2 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (350 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,150 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 26% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 25% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 12 min
- 11% walk or take transit to work
- 2 mi to KTN airport
- 678 mi to SEA (major hub)
- 47% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1971
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 495 ft
- Right on the coast
- 280 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 228 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- No golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 13 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 11 bars within 25 mi
- 7 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 4 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 2 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 40% of Alaska districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 24 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 229 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 237 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough: R+14 in 2024
- Alaska: R+14 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Moderate earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk