Photo: Ajohns90 · CC BY-SA 3.0Soldotna has lower household incomes than 79% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 14 minutes each way, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 16.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Alaska has 10.1%. Jobs and income earn Soldotna D; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Soldotna
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Soldotna is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #40 of 41 in Alaska. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Soldotna’s grade.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Soldotna could be anywhere from D− to B.
The trip to work from Soldotna: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Soldotna workers work from home, vs 10% across Alaska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,729 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Alaska: 72% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Soldotna is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Soldotna is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #7 of 41 in Alaska. Both inputs place Soldotna near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,816 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.6% of Soldotna households have no vehicle (Alaska 9.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Soldotna’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Soldotna is 3,492nd among 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 571 | Steele Creek AK | 5,928 | $121K | 3.3% | 0.5% | — | A |
| … | |||||||
| 847 | Farmers Loop AK | 4,954 | $110K | 1.8% | 2.8% | — | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,570 | Goldstream AK | 3,294 | $104K | 4.7% | 3.7% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,490 | Worth Township MI | 3,423 | $61K | 13.4% | 7.0% | 10% | D |
| 3,491 | Meadow Lake NM | 4,259 | $44K | 20.6% | 4.8% | 1% | D |
| 3,492 | Soldotna AK | 4,615 | $56K | 16.4% | 5.9% | — | D |
| 3,493 | Paris AR | 3,357 | $51K | 18.9% | 5.0% | 25% | D |
| 3,494 | Mount Gilead OH | 3,575 | $45K | 17.7% | 6.8% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Soldotna, the top three, the last and three more from Alaska.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Soldotna: questions
What is the median household income in Soldotna?
$56,280 (±$17,896) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $92,788 across Alaska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Soldotna?
16.4%, against 10.1% across Alaska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Soldotna?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Alaska and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Is Soldotna walkable?
Soldotna is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Soldotna without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Soldotna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Soldotna
Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.