South LakesAK
A town of 6,180. Public schools that outperform most of Alaska.
Is South Lakes a good place to live?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades B, ranked 8th of 41 in Alaska. Its public schools beat 77% of Alaska towns on state tests and graduation. South Lakes’ July high is 68°F, above the Alaska town median (66°F) but below the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Only 5 of Alaska’s 69 towns score lower on the outdoors. The biggest park or preserve is Cottonwood Creek Park, at 37 acres.
What makes South Lakes stand out
Where South Lakes beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Peak Elementary | PK–5 | 449 |
| Cottonwood Creek Elementary | PK–5 | 422 |
| Birchtree Charter School | K–8 | 416 |
How South Lakes grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far South Lakes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to South Lakes: who provides what
South Lakes is unincorporated, so Matanuska-Susitna 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 South Lakes.
South Lakes has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Alaska; it also has little public open land.
Earthquakes leads a very high hazard risk in South Lakes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
South Lakes earns an A− for schools
Its public schools are run by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Peak ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 449 | A+ |
| Knik Charter SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 189 | – |
| Cottonwood Creek ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 422 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
Residents of South Lakes are healthier than 70% of U.S. towns
Within Alaska it is less healthy than 57% of the 41 graded towns: Alaska sets a high bar.
South Lakes beats the Alaska average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 72% of adults had a checkup this year in South Lakes.
| South Lakes | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 68% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 8.8% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | South Lakes | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.7% | 8.2% |
| More adults with arthritis | 26.7% | 23.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In South Lakes, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Matanuska Exp Farm weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 127 days, shorter than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 67.9°, cooler than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 6.7°. The Matanuska Exp Farm weather station records that 50 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 79% of Alaska places with climate records.
South Lakes has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with very little rain. South Lakes’ January low is 7°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
An age mix much like Alaska’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Alaska average. 12% of South Lakes residents are 65 or older. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Alaska.
| South Lakes | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.2 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 13% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women.
| South Lakes | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.9% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.7% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.2% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.3% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.5% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
A home in South Lakes sells for about $475K at the median
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Conserved land covers 0% of South Lakes
Just 1 of its 5,249 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in South Lakes itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in South Lakes is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cottonwood Creek Park | — | 37 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about South Lakes
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of South Lakes
About 5 of every 100 South Lakes residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Alaska.
About South Lakes
Census-designated place in Alaska, United States
South Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census, after the split of the former CDP of Lakes. As of the 2020 census, South Lakes had a population of 5,229. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 371 ft
South Lakes’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with South Lakes.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Gateway (B) comes closest.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Lakes | #8 | B | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
| North Lakes | #22 | C+ | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Gateway | #10 | B | C | — | A− | A− |
| Wasilla | #40 | C− | C+ | D | A− | C+ |
South Lakes, North Lakes and Gateway report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare South Lakes with a neighbor →
Questions about South Lakes
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is South Lakes, AK a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. South Lakes grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #8 of 41 in Alaska. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is South Lakes, AK expensive?
The typical home is worth about $378,000, 5% below the Alaska typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.