Steele CreekAK
This town in Alaska has a population of 5,928.
Is Steele Creek a good place to live?
Health is its strong suit: it is healthier than 85% of U.S. towns. Overall, Steele Creek earns a B+, which places it 5th of 41 in Alaska. Set against the rest, it does better than 66% of U.S. towns. Add incomes to its strengths (A): the median household earns $121K. At about $348K, a typical home costs 3.9 years of the Fairbanks metro’s $88K median household income. The drawback is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. It also trails on hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 68% of U.S. communities, with cold waves at the top.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index.
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.
In Steele Creek, nearly a third of the land is conserved
Trails total 49 miles in 1 park or preserve. Tanana Valley State Forest, at 8,109 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. For Steele Creek, the concentration of trails is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| 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
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Steele Creek’s only public school teaches 413 students.
| 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.
In Steele Creek, 14% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 8.1% have diabetes. Only 3 of the 41 Alaska towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Steele Creek. 69% of Steele Creek adults had a checkup this year. This Alaska town 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% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 8.8% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| 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
Among adults 25 and older, 35% have a four-year degree or more, against 32% across Alaska. Adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (37% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (25% statewide). In Steele Creek, 12% of residents are 65 or older. 22% of Steele Creek residents are under 18, below the Alaska town median (24%) and near the median of U.S. towns (22%).
| 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
Natural hazards: high risk in Steele Creek, mostly cold waves
Expected losses in Steele Creek break down as 33% from cold waves and 31% from earthquakes. Since 2003, one flood insurance claim has been paid in the town.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Steele Creek
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’s January low stands at -2°F, against 7°F in Alaska’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. The midsummer high here 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 are owner-occupiers
The median sale price was $487,000 in September 2026. Homes sold in Steele Creek spent a median 51 days on the market. Sellers in Steele Creek got 101.8% of the asking price, typically.
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−.