Susitna NorthAK
A town of 1,566. Public schools that outperform most of Alaska.
Is Susitna North a good place to live?
Susitna North’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A− for schools; its weakest is a D for incomes. Susitna North’s average trip to work is 35 minutes, against 21 minutes in Alaska’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. No town in Alaska scores higher than Susitna North on cost of living. 74% of the land in Susitna North is conserved, against 15% in Alaska’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Kirsch's Place is on the National Register of Historic Places. Susitna North has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Susitna North stand out
Where Susitna North beats most towns.
Susitna North has grown 24% from 2010 to 2020
1,260 counted in 2010 and 1,564 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Susitna North grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Alaska), ordered by how far Susitna North is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Susitna North: who provides what
Susitna North 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 Susitna North.
Nearly a third of Susitna North is conserved land
12 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Montana Creek State Recreation Site, at 28 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Montana Creek State Recreation Site | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Susitna North’s schools rank ahead of 77% of Alaska districts
Its public schools are run by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susitna Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 233 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AK on state tests and graduation
Avalanches leads a high hazard risk in Susitna North
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Susitna North stands out in Alaska and nationally: a larger share of its adults have high blood pressure
41% of adults have high blood pressure in Susitna North. Of the 42 Alaska towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Susitna North. 21% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Susitna North.
| Susitna North | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Susitna North | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.1% | 17.6% |
| Fewer lonely adults | 29.4% | 33.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Susitna North has four seasons and pleasant summers
Susitna North has cold winters and cool summers. Susitna North’s July high is 69°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Susitna North sell for about $250K
80% of Susitna North households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Susitna North
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Susitna North; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Susitna North residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Alaska.
About Susitna North
CDP in Alaska, United States
Susitna North (commonly known as Sunshine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,564 at the 2020 census, up from 1,260 in 2010. The CDP was formerly named Y (), for the intersection of the George Parks Highway and the Talkeetna Spur Road. In the immediate vicinity of this intersection is a community center, containing a health clinic, law enforcement (Alaska State Troopers), Susitna Valley High School, and retail services for highway travelers such as gasoline and food.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 337 sq mi
- Elevation
- 948 ft
Susitna North’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Susitna North.
| Town | AK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susitna North | — | — | A+ | — | A− | C |
| Willow | — | — | B | — | A− | C+ |
| Talkeetna | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Susitna North and Willow have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Susitna North and Willow report no FBI crime data of their own. Talkeetna isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Susitna North with a neighbor →
Questions about Susitna North
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Susitna North, AK a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Alaska.
Is Susitna North, AK expensive?
Not for the area. That is 2.6 years of the area's median household income ($100,505 across the Anchorage, AK metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.