Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, September 1914, 1914
Bear Creek’s story
Bear Creek in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1914.
Explore the history →
Bear CreekAK
A town of 1,732.
2 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Craig Talbert · CC BY 2.0
Population
1,732
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$475K
Census ACS
Household income
$96K
median
Median age
49.7
years
Land area
40 sq mi
Is Bear Creek a good place to live?
The best of Bear Creek’s subject grades is an A− for health; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Bear Creek’s July high is 62°F, against 66°F in Alaska’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 2 of Alaska’s 65 towns do worse. 55% of the land in Bear Creek is conserved, above both the Alaska town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Bear Creek has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Bear Creek stand out
Where Bear Creek beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
How Bear Creek grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Bear Creek is from typical.
Hazard riskavalanches tops the listD−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $475K, 5.9 years of the county’s $81K median household incomeDOpen →HealthProvidence Seward Hospital 7.6 miles awayA−Open →SchoolsBeat 65% of Alaska districts on tests and graduationB+Open →Jobs & income$96K median household income; 3.1% below the poverty lineBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.5 of 20; 3.3% of households have no car; 6.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 5 attractions →Kenai Fjords National Park and 2 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bear Creek. Close and well known come first.
6 mi National ParkKenai Fjords National Park425K visitors a year
19 mi National forestChugach National Forest
8 mi Zoo & aquariumAlaska SeaLife CenterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Kenai Fjords National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Chugach National Forest: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Alaska SeaLife Center: Me, Public domain
Getting set up
Moving to Bear Creek: who provides what
Bear Creek is unincorporated, so Kenai Peninsula Borough and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerChugach Electric Assn23.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSalmon Creek Trailer Court water system1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers82% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesKenai Peninsula BoroughKenai Peninsula Borough provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Alaska you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereAbsentee and Petition OfficeState of Alaska; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code9966499664 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bear Creek.
54.5%conserved
54.5%
conserved · 13,690 of 25,121 acres
22 mi
of trails · 0.6 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
Bear Creek faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by avalanches
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 96% of U.S. communities.
96risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
AvalanchesTsunamisEarthquakes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Who lives here
The median age in Bear Creek is higher than in most of Alaska or the rest of the country
The median age in Bear Creek is 49.7 years. Adults 35 to 64 are 56% of residents (37% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 10% of residents (25% statewide). 36% of Bear Creek adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
49.7median age · AK 35.8
| Bear Creek | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.7 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 28% | 29% |
Bear CreekAlaskaUnited States
Ages · share of residents
30%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma1%
High school20%
Some college30%
Associate’s13%
Bachelor’s28%
Graduate8%
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.4 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 100% are men (AK 57%).
| Bear Creek | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.7% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 17.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.8% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.4% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.9% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 30.3% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.7% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.7% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.4% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points
HealthA−
Bear Creek ranks healthier than 82% of the country’s towns
Bear Creek beats the Alaska average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 65% of adults had a checkup this year in Bear Creek. Only 4 of the 42 Alaska towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have obesity than Bear Creek.
82%healthier than U.S. townsA−Health Grade
| Bear Creek | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 65% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 25% |
32 measures vs. Alaska
6 better24 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Bear Creek | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 6.7% | 9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.8% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.2% | 7% |
Providence Seward Hospital
7.6 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Bear Creek, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Bear Creek has chilly, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Bear Creek’s January low is 21°F.
90″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter23–33°
Spring32–45°
Summer49–61°
Fall35–46°
Oct 7
typical first frost
May 2
typical last frost
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Bear Creek
16pages on Bear Creek
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Bear Creek; the nearest are
Alaska Christian CollegeCommunity college · Private nonprofit · Soldotna63.4 mi$9,660 tuitionUniversity of Alaska AnchorageUniversity or college · Public · Anchorage69.6 mi$7,738 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Bear Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
About Bear Creek
Census-designated place in Alaska, United States
Bear Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 2,129 up from 1,956 in 2010. Bear Creek is a few miles north of Seward near the stream of the same name and its source, Bear Lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 40 sq mi
- Elevation
- 138 ft
Bear Creek’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Bear Creek.
How the neighbors grade
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek | — | — | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Primrose | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Seward | #16 | B− | C− | C+ | B+ | A |
Bear Creek has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bear Creek reports no FBI crime data of its own. Primrose isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bear Creek with a neighbor →
Questions about Bear Creek
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bear Creek, AK expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.