Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary · Photo: Burntorange72 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Kenai (7.4%) is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 16 minutes on average (Alaska 19, U.S. 26). For jobs and income Kenai is better than 23% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (B). Measured by household income, Kenai is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Kenai: the grade in detail
Household income holds Kenai’s grade up ($87,083, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kenai could be anywhere from D to B−.
Kenai’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kenai workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,327 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Alaska: 72% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Driving is how Kenai gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,500 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Kenai households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kenai’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kenai next to U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700: 2,534th of 3,069 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 602 | Steele Creek AK | 5,928 | $121K | 3.3% | 0.5% | — | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,085 | Gateway AK | 6,845 | $138K | 4.5% | 3.8% | — | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,508 | Chena Ridge AK | 5,881 | $134K | 2.8% | 7.3% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,532 | Semmes AL | 6,259 | $66K | 22.5% | 6.8% | 3% | C− |
| 2,533 | Carmi Township IL | 6,003 | $53K | 18.8% | 2.7% | 29% | C− |
| 2,534 | Kenai AK | 7,924 | $87K | 13.2% | 7.4% | — | C− |
| 2,535 | Jacinto City TX | 9,388 | $47K | 27.1% | 8.5% | 2% | C− |
| 2,536 | Union Gap WA | 6,617 | $60K | 13.8% | 13.4% | 9% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Kenai, the top three, the last and three more from Alaska.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Kenai: questions
What is the median household income in Kenai?
$87,083 (±$17,346) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kenai?
13.2%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kenai?
16 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Is Kenai walkable?
Kenai is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kenai without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kenai, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kenai
Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.