RidgewayAK
A town of 1,997.
Is Ridgeway a good place to live?
Ridgeway’s best subject grades are a B+ for walkability and schools; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Only 4 of Alaska’s 69 towns score lower on the outdoors. Ridgeway has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How Ridgeway grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Ridgeway is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Ridgeway: who provides what
Ridgeway is unincorporated, so Kenai Peninsula 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ridgeway.
Natural hazards: very high risk in Ridgeway, mostly earthquakes
Compared with 95% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Ridgeway is higher. 92% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes. Flood insurance has paid out on 4 claims locally since 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ridgeway stands out in Alaska and nationally, with the median age higher than most
24% of residents are 65 or older in Ridgeway. In Ridgeway, 32% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Ridgeway | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 13% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 28% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.1 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women.
| Ridgeway | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.6% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.9% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.1% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.3% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.5% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.8% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
Ridgeway has four seasons and pleasant summers
In Ridgeway, the July high is 63°F, where Alaska’s towns sit at 66°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with most of Alaska and the rest of the country, fewer of Ridgeway’s adults sleep under 7 hours
For adults in Ridgeway, the share who report frequent physical distress is 15%. 17% of Ridgeway adults smoke cigarettes, above both Alaska’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (14%). Against the Alaska average, Ridgeway comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 7. Also worth knowing: only 2 of the 42 Alaska towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Ridgeway.
| Ridgeway | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ridgeway | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 21.2% | 25.4% |
| Fewer adults sleeping under 7 hours | 29.6% | 35.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Ridgeway
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ridgeway
About 0 of every 100 Ridgeway residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
About Ridgeway
Census-designated place in Alaska, United States
Ridgeway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 2,136, up from 2,022 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 18 sq mi
- Elevation
- 187 ft
Ridgeway’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Ridgeway.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgeway | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Sterling | #9 | B | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Kalifornsky | #17 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Kenai | #20 | C+ | B− | C+ | B+ | B |
| Soldotna | #18 | B− | B | B− | B+ | B |
Ridgeway has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ridgeway, Sterling and Kalifornsky report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ridgeway with a neighbor →
Questions about Ridgeway
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ridgeway, AK expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.