Steele CreekAK
A town of 5,928.
Is Steele Creek a good place to live?
Steele Creek is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 5th among Alaska's 41 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $121K. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $348K, 3.9 years of the Fairbanks metro’s $88K median household income. 36% of the land in Steele Creek is conserved, against 14% in Alaska’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Tanana Valley State Forest, at 8,109 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns.
How Steele Creek grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Steele Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Steele Creek: who provides what
Steele Creek is unincorporated, so Fairbanks North Star 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 Steele Creek.
Steele Creek has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of Alaska.
Steele Creek has set aside nearly a third of its land for conservation
49 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tanana Valley State Forest | 2.4 mi | 8,109 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools in Steele Creek beat 56% of Alaska districts
Its public schools are run by the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weller ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 413 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
Steele Creek’s grade for health is an A
Its widest gap with Alaska is food insecurity: 8.2% of its 4,860 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide. Against the 5,560 U.S. towns with household incomes like Steele Creek’s, it is healthier than 67%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
69% of Steele Creek adults had a checkup this year, where Alaska’s towns sit at 68% and U.S. towns at 79%. 8.1% of adults have diabetes in Steele Creek. Steele Creek beats the Alaska average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Steele Creek | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 68% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 8.8% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Steele Creek | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.2% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 8.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
More middle-aged adults than Alaska overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (37% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (25% statewide). 12% of Steele Creek residents are 65 or older. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Alaska.
| Steele Creek | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 13% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 27% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.7 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
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 ±2.1 points. Across Alaska, 47.5% of residents are women.
| Steele Creek | AK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.8% | 13.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 15.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.7% | 14.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.9% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.4% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.1% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 28.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.7% | 24% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.8% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 11.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Cold waves leads a high hazard risk in Steele Creek
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Steele Creek since 2003.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Steele Creek has snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Gilmore Creek weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 87 days, shorter than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average -2.4°, colder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 68°. The Gilmore Creek weather station, 5 miles away, records that 53 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 78% of Alaska places with climate records.
Steele Creek has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with very little rain. The July high in Steele Creek is 68°F.
| Steele Creek | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 68°F | 66°F | 85°F |
| January low | -2°F | 7°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Steele Creek stands out in Alaska and nationally: a larger share of its households own their home
No town among the 41 in Alaska we compare has a higher share of households owning their home than Steele Creek. The median sale price was $435,000 in May 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Pioneer Park and 4 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Steele Creek. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Park & preservePioneer Park
13 mi MuseumUniversity of Alaska Museum of the North16 mi Ski areaMoose Mountain Ski Resort98 runs · 1,311 ft vertical9 mi Ski areaSki Land (Mt Aurora)45 runs · 1,084 ft vertical
13 mi GardenGeorgeson Botanical GardenPhoto credits
Pioneer Park: Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 4.0 · University of Alaska Museum of the North: Maureen amerune, CC BY 2.0 · Georgeson Botanical Garden: Abalg, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about Steele Creek
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Steele Creek
About 8 of every 100 Steele Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
Steele Creek’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Steele Creek.
At #5 in AK, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Farmers Loop (B+) comes closest.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steele Creek | #5 | B+ | B− | — | B | A |
| Two Rivers | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fox | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Farmers Loop | #6 | B+ | C+ | — | B | A− |
| Badger | #33 | C | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Fairbanks | #38 | C− | C | D | B | B+ |
Steele Creek, Farmers Loop and Badger report no FBI crime data of their own. Two Rivers and Fox aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Steele Creek with a neighbor →
Questions about Steele Creek
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Steele Creek, AK a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Steele Creek grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #5 of 41 in Alaska. It grades A for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Steele Creek, AK expensive?
The typical home is worth about $348,000, 12% 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 B−.