#1Sitka
Sitka City and Borough · 8,319 peopleJanuary low·July high 60°·70 freezing nights a year
Sitka, #1 on this list · Sheldon Jackson School · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainAlaska rankings · Climate
Towns with the mildest winters in Alaska
Sitka has the mildest winters of Alaska’s 41 towns of 2,500+: January nights average a low of 32° (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). The typical town here averages 7°; 1 of the 41 stay above freezing.
The average January low. NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020, from NOAA’s 5 km grid at each town’s center; one town for each grid cell. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#132°
#2Ketchikan
Ketchikan Gateway Borough · 7,939 peopleJanuary low·July high 64°·82 freezing nights a year
#3Unalaska
Aleutians West Census Area · 4,306 peopleJanuary low·July high 57°·112 freezing nights a year
All 41 towns
January low, highest first. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T = tied; 19 towns here).
41 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownJanuary lowNights ≤32°July high
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which Alaska town has the mildest winters?
Sitka (Sitka City and Borough): January nights average a low of 32°. Ketchikan (32°) and Unalaska (29°) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By the average January low (the coldest month’s nights), highest first, on NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals, read from its 5 km grid at each town’s center. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T); the figure and the state rank are the ones on each town’s Climate page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ residents, one for each of NOAA’s 5 km grid cells (41 in Alaska): where towns share a cell, one of them stands for it, since the grid gives them the same figures. Every town’s own figures are on its Climate page. Every town is on the Alaska page.
Go deeper
All Alaska rankings →More Alaska lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
Best places to live41 towns · #1 PetersburgBest small towns33 towns · #1 PetersburgMost affordable towns41 towns · #1 KotzebueSafest towns18 towns · #1 UnalaskaTowns with the best schools41 towns · #1 PetersburgHealthiest towns41 towns · #1 Chena RidgeBest towns for jobs & income41 towns · #1 Steele CreekMost walkable towns41 towns · #1 SitkaTowns with the lowest natural-hazard risk41 towns · #1 UtqiaġvikBest towns for the outdoors41 towns · #1 AnchorageMost historic towns41 towns · #1 KetchikanTowns with the most civic life17 towns · #1 SewardTowns with the least snow35 towns · #1 KetchikanDescribed, no lettersSnowiest towns35 towns · #1 ValdezDescribed, no lettersTowns with the hottest summers41 towns · #1 GoldstreamDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers41 towns · #1 UtqiaġvikDescribed, no lettersTowns with the highest incomes41 towns · #1 GatewayDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest property taxes39 towns · #1 KotzebueDescribed, no lettersFastest-growing towns19 towns · #1 WasillaDescribed, no letters
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