Living in South Lakes, AK
South Lakes is a big small town of 6,180 people in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. It's about 29 miles from Anchorage, AK and 1,429 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 68°F and winter highs 23°F, with about 56 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $378k and rent runs about $1k a month.
6,180people
$378kTypical home
$1,178/moRent
68° / 23°Summer / winter
56"Snow
144Sunny days
99Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 6,180
- Part of a metro area
- About 792 people per sq mi
- 1,429 mi to Seattle, WA
- 29 mi to Anchorage, AK
- 2 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $378k (≈$2,381/mo)
- Median rent $1,178/mo
- Median household income $98k
- Property tax about 1.1% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 68°F
- Winter highs around 23°F
- Dry summers (dew point 46°F)
- 144 sunny days a year (30 totally clear)
- 221 cloudy days a year
- 47 of 90 winter days are gray
- 99 days a year with rain or snow
- 56" of snow a year
- 18 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 63 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 34
- 40% of households have kids
- 12% are 65 or older
- 24% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 31 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 31 mi to MRI airport
- 36 mi to ANC (major hub)
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1990
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 351 ft
- 6 mi to the ocean
- 85 mi to a big lake
- 7 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 11 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 4 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 50 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 7 bars within 25 mi
- 55 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 8 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 7 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 50% of Alaska districts (reading)
- 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 11 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- 16 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 3 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