Susitna NorthAK
Public schools that outperform most of Alaska. 1,566 people call this town in Alaska home.
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.
Conservation land takes up nearly a third of Susitna North
The biggest park or preserve is Montana Creek State Recreation Site, at 28 acres. Count the trails in 1 park or preserve and they come to 12 miles.
| 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 one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Susitna North’s only public school teaches 233 students.
| 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
Top of a high hazard risk in Susitna North: avalanches
On expected storm and flood damage, Susitna North sits above 77% of U.S. communities. 83% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from avalanches, followed by earthquakes at 12%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Susitna North stands out in Alaska and nationally: a larger share of its adults have high blood pressure
27% of adults get no exercise outside work in Susitna North. Of the 42 Alaska towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Susitna North. The town does better than the Alaska average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 12.
| 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
In Susitna North, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Susitna North’s peak summer temperature is 69°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Susitna North sell for about $297K
A home in Susitna North typically sold within 37 days of listing. In Susitna North, 80% of households live in a home they own. Sellers in Susitna North got 98.4% of the asking price, typically.
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. The typical home is worth about $258,000, 35% 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 A+.