Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,615, incorporated in 1960. 3.9 times the library visits per person than the typical Alaska town.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades B−, 18th of 41 graded towns in Alaska. It has 5 miles of trail and it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $56K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Soldotna’s July high is 66°F, against 66°F in Alaska’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Soldotna's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns. Soldotna is home to Alaska Christian College.
Where Soldotna beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
17.5% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Soldotna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 332 in 1960, 4,342 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1950 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Soldotna, 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 Soldotna.
Soldotna is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns and is one of Alaska’s best towns for the outdoors.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #2 of 41 in Alaska.
5.1 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Centennial Park, 111 acres with 1.8 miles of trail. Soldotna’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Centennial Park | 1.8 mi | 111 |
| 2. Soldotna Creek Park | 0.7 mi | 19 |
| 3. Rotary Park | 0.3 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Connections, with 1,188 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalifornsky Beach ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 384 | B |
| ConnectionsLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 1,188 | A |
| Soldotna Montessori Charter SchoolTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 164 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 65.5°, cooler than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 4.8°.
Soldotna has cold winters and cool summers, with very little rain. The January low in Soldotna is 5°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 29% of residents (37% statewide); people 65 and older are 19% of residents (14% statewide). Soldotna has grown 6.2% since 2020, to 4,615 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of residents are under 18 in Soldotna.
| Soldotna | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.1 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 13% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 29% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.1 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women.
| Soldotna | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.7% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.6% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.9% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.1% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.9% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42.3% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.7% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 7,811 U.S. towns with household incomes like Soldotna’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Alaska it is less healthy than 75% of the 41 graded towns: Alaska sets a high bar.
30% of Soldotna adults sleep under 7 hours. Soldotna beats the Alaska average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 17% of Soldotna adults smoke cigarettes.
| Soldotna | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Soldotna | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 21.3% | 25.4% |
| Fewer adults sleeping under 7 hours | 30% | 35.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $1,425, against $3,901 across Alaska, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Soldotna home is worth about $371,000, up 6.3% in a year, 7% below the Alaska typical home. Among 41 Alaska towns, just 2 have a lower median rent than Soldotna.
| Soldotna | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,020 a month | $1,412 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 103 to 46 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Alaska, it does better than 71% of towns.
| Soldotna | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.7 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Soldotna
About 7 of every 100 Soldotna residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
3 notable people were born in Soldotna.
City in Alaska, United States
Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion of Alaska on the central-western portion of the Kenai Peninsula. The city limits span 7 square miles along the Kenai River, which empties into the Cook Inlet in the nearby city of Kenai. Soldotna is located on the western edge of the vast Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area spanning nearly 2 million acres and home to bears, moose, caribou, sheep, and many fish and bird species. The city is located at the junction of the Sterling Highway an…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Soldotna.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soldotna | #18 | B− | B | B− | B+ | B |
| Kalifornsky | #17 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Funny River | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Ridgeway | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Sterling | #9 | B | B− | — | B+ | A− |
Funny River and Ridgeway have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Kalifornsky, Funny River, Ridgeway and Sterling report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Soldotna with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Soldotna grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #18 of 41 in Alaska. It grades B for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Alaska, it does better than 71% of towns.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($80,538 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
Soldotna was incorporated in 1960 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 notable people were born here, including Travis Hall and Emily Johnson.