Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.1 times the library visits per person than the typical Alaska town.
Sitka’s strongest subject is walkability (A+): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. This Alaska town grades A− overall and ranks 3rd of 41 in Alaska. Nationally, it does better than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. It is strong on health as well: it is healthier than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. The catch is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 68% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Incomes are weaker too: the median household income is $102K, and 8% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $489K, 4.8 years of the county’s $102K median household income. The town has 22 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Russian Bishop's House and American Flag Raising Site.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Sitka beats most towns.
American Flag Raising Site
American Flag Raising Site is one of 8 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1867, comes before those of 96% of the Alaska towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 916 in 1880, 8,458 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1951 on.
22 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Sitka is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sitka, and how to reach them.
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 Sitka.
Sitka fares better on crime within Alaska than nationally, has schools in the top 5% of Alaska and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Alaska.
Its 1,834,469 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 88% of Alaska towns.
In 7 parks and preserves, walkers have 77 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Tongass National Forest, 1,825,439 acres with 46.2 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Sitka: 7, covering 2,331,080 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tongass National Forest | 46.2 mi | 1,825,439 |
| 2. West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness | 2.6 mi | 195,638 |
| 3. Sitka National Historical Park | 2.4 mi | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− ranks #3 of the 41 Alaska towns we grade for schools.
Two of the 7 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Mt. Edgecumbe High School, with 422 students. Its public schools are run by the Sitka School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keet Gooshi Heen ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 275 | A |
| Mt. Edgecumbe High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 422 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
In Sitka, 18% of adults binge drink. Sitka: a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression, where Alaska’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 23%. Only 4 of the 41 Alaska towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Sitka.
| Sitka | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 68% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 25% |
| What stands out | Sitka | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.7% | 13.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.8% | 14.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Values fell 5.6% in the past year while the Alaska typical home rose 5.3%. The typical value, about $489K, is 14% below its August 2022 peak.
Home values are down 5.6% over the year to September 2026. Sitka: 62% of households are owner-occupiers, below both the Alaska town median (69%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). In Sitka, the typical rent is $1,341 a month.
| Sitka | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,341 a month | $1,412 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
31% of Sitka’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by tsunamis at 27%. Flood insurance has paid one claim here since 2009.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 60.4°, cooler than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 32.4°.
The peak summer temperature in Sitka is 60°F. The seasons here: mild winters, cool summers, with plenty of rain.
| Sitka | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 60°F | 66°F | 85°F |
| January low | 32°F | 7°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Sitka who are under 18: 19%. Children under 18 are nearly a fifth of residents (24% statewide). 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Alaska.
| Sitka | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 27% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 13% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.7 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
49.1% women, 50.9% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.9 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.6, men 39.1.
| Sitka | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.7% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.1% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 15.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 82% of Alaska’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 20 reported in 2025, 2.4 per 1,000 residents.
For Sitka, the property crime rate is 5 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate for Sitka comes to 2.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Sitka | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sitka. Close and well known come first.
in town State parkCastle Hill
in town National Historical ParkSitka National Historical Park333K visitors a year
in town MuseumRussian Bishop's HouseCastle Hill: Postels, Public domain · Sitka National Historical Park: The original uploader was Lordkinbote at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5 · Russian Bishop's House: The original uploader was Lordkinbote at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5
None within 15 miles of Sitka; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Sitka residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alaska.
60.4% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
22 places in Sitka on the National Register of Historic Places.
One town shares a border with Sitka.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sitka | #3 | A− | B− | B | A− | A− |
| Port Alexander | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Port Alexander isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sitka with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Sitka grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #3 of 41 in Alaska. It grades A− 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−.
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