Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3,227 people live in this town, settled in 1900.
Petersburg’s best grade is for hazard risk (A+). The drawback is incomes: the median household income is $71K, and 7% of residents live below the poverty line. At about $386K, a typical home costs 5.1 years of the county’s $75K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns. That places it 1st of 41 in Alaska. The biggest place to walk is Tongass National Forest, 21,525 acres with 17.4 miles of trail. Petersburg's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 99% of U.S. towns. Petersburg's public schools beat 96% of Alaska towns on state tests and graduation.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap.
Where Petersburg beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Rae C. Stedman Elementary | PK–5 | 206 |
| Mitkof Middle School | 6–8 | 114 |
| Petersburg High School | 9–12 | 144 |
84% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Petersburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 585 in 1910, 3,043 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Petersburg is unincorporated, so Petersburg Borough and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Petersburg.
Petersburg carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Alaska (mostly landslides), fares better on crime within Alaska than nationally and has schools in the top 5% of Alaska.
Its 24,669 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Alaska town.
22 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Petersburg: 4, covering 21,542 acres. In Petersburg, the concentration of trails is 0.5 miles per square mile, near both the Alaska town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tongass National Forest | 17.4 mi | 21,525 |
| 2. Mort Freyer Sports Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
| 3. Sandy Beach | 0.2 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade ranks #1 of the 41 Alaska towns we grade for schools.
Its three schools are below. The public schools here belong to the Petersburg Borough School District. Public school enrollment here: 464 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rae C. Stedman ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 206 | A− |
| Petersburg High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 144 | A+ |
| Mitkof Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 114 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of Alaska towns; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Among 40 Alaska towns, just 2 have a lower FEMA hazard score than Petersburg. FEMA puts three fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to landslides, and 36% to avalanches.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 10,621 U.S. towns with household incomes like Petersburg’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Petersburg: 68% of adults had a checkup this year. Of 32 CDC measures, Petersburg beats the Alaska average on 4 and trails it on 3. The share of adults in Petersburg who have obesity is 31%, below both Alaska’s towns (35%) and U.S. towns (35%). Among 41 Alaska towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Petersburg.
| Petersburg | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Petersburg | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.6% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.1% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The share of residents in Petersburg who are under 18: 19%. Only one of the 41 Alaska towns we compare has a higher midpoint age than Petersburg. Alaska has 32% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 27%.
| Petersburg | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 46.1 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 29% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women.
| Petersburg | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.3% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.4% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.5% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.5% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.6% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
The Petersburg 1 weather station records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 61.7°, cooler than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 27.2°.
In Petersburg, the midsummer high is 62°F. Only 4 of the 41 Alaska towns we compare have a higher January low than Petersburg.
| Petersburg | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 62°F | 66°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 7°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 14.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 88% of Alaska’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 2 per 1,000 residents.
Petersburg’s violent crime rate comes in at 2 per 1,000 residents. For Petersburg, the level of property crime is 8.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Petersburg | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.5 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $1,929, against $3,901 across Alaska, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 13% in value. In Petersburg, the median rent is $1,082 a month. 68% of households live in a home they own here.
| Petersburg | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,082 a month | $1,412 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Petersburg; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Petersburg residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
3 places in Petersburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Alaska
Petersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in and essentially the borough seat of Petersburg Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 3,043 at the 2020 census, up from 2,948 in 2010. The town is the headquarters of the Petersburg Indian Association, a federally recognized tribe of Tlingit people. The borough encompasses Petersburg and Kupreanof, plus mostly uninhabited areas stretching to the Canadian–American border and the southern boundary of the City and Borough of Juneau. While the city of Petersburg ceased to exist as a separate administrative entity (the borough assembly created a service area to assume operation of the former city's services), the tiny city of Kupreanof…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Petersburg.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petersburg | #1 | A | B | B | A+ | B+ |
| Kupreanof | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Kupreanof isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Petersburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Petersburg grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #1 of 41 in Alaska. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and A+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Elizabeth Peratrovich and Rosita Worl.
