City · Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska

Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak is a city in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. It has 5,447 residents. Kodiak, Alaska has a quality-of-life score of 76 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,716 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alaska it ranks #12 of 71 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), drought exposure (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and drug overdose deaths (high).

76High

Quality-of-life score: #3,716 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alaska: #12 of 71 in AK
Population: 5,447 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,386.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0240950

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 64 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety36#10,058/15,637
Economy68#4,929/15,631
Housing86#2,111/14,977
Health56#6,843/15,609
Healthcare56#6,885/15,650
Environment—
Education70#4,727/15,649
Infrastructure46#8,380/15,650
Community94#1,017/15,651
Leisure & amenities76#3,729/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kodiak, Alaska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kodiak Island Borough value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Average commute time · low9.3 min
100/100Alaska 19.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100Alaska 0%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAKodiak Island Borough value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high14.5 /10k
98/100Alaska 9.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKodiak Island Borough value
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.2%
97/100Alaska 79.1%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKodiak Island Borough value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.339
97/100Alaska 0.433United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
96/100Alaska 1.1 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesKodiak Island Borough value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high250 mi
0/100Alaska 131 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKodiak Island Borough value
Distance to an emergency room · high34.9 mi
0/100Alaska 46.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKodiak Island Borough value
Drug overdose deaths · high54.0 /100k
1/100Alaska 40.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataKodiak Island Borough value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Alaska 0.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKodiak Island Borough value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high1,327 mi
1/100Alaska 1,315 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKodiak Island Borough value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Alaska 2.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyKodiak Island Borough value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
6,022 (2015-2019) → 5,447 (2020-2024)
−9.5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
14.7% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.9% (2015-2019) → 9.4% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.4 /1k (2021) → 0.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.6% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.6% (2015-2019) → 8.3% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Kodiak, Alaska improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Uninsured−7.6 points16.9% → 9.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Kodiak, Alaska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.3 min2015-2019	9.3 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.2%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	81.6%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.14%2015-2019	0.81%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%
High school diploma or higher	88.4%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.3392020-2024	−0.075	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$73,3102015-2019	$90,2922020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	40%
Poverty rate	8.6%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent as share of income	23.5%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent-burdened households	33.3%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.9%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Improved	93%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Kodiak, Alaska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kodiak, Alaska in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Kodiak, Alaska itself moved +3.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

5,447 residents (±18)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,880 households (±187)

Kodiak, Alaska
Alaska share

Under $25k10%†193
$25k–50k17%†324
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,880 households (±187)

Kodiak, Alaska
Alaska share

Own50%937
Rent50%943

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,848 workers (±239)

Kodiak, Alaska
Alaska share

Drive alone62%1,754
Carpool19%†543
Public transit0.2%†6

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kodiak Island Borough, the county holding most of Kodiak's residents.

Kodiak Island Borough has 450 employer establishments, 359 for every 10,000 residents (1.45× the US rate of 248; 1.19× Alaska's), with 4,489 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,900. The Census Bureau also counts 1,422 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 450; 1,422 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 359; US 248 · Alaska 302
Paid employees: 4,489
Average annual pay: $57,900; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kodiak Island Borough by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	28	22.3	1.07×About typical	419	$74,979	44
Restaurants and other eating places	21	16.8	0.91×About typical	261	$30,107	—
Specialty trade contractors	20	16	1.03×About typical	101	$57,149	41
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	18	14.4	5.40×More than typical	34	$70,824	16
Other amusement and recreation industries	15	12	4.93×More than typical	21	$99,857	14
Construction of buildings	13	10.4	1.37×More than typical	44	$85,636	35
Food manufacturing	12	9.6	10.4×More than typical	1,496	$50,348	—
RV parks and recreational camps	11	8.8	37.0×More than typical	18	$123,833	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	7.2	1.43×Too few to compare	41	$53,195	7
Full-service restaurants	9	7.2	0.93×Too few to compare	117	$38,573	—
Lessors of real estate	9	7.2	0.58×Too few to compare	18	$66,278	56
Outpatient care centers	9	7.2	3.90×Too few to compare	252	$81,052	—

Rank places for an industry Open Kodiak Island Borough

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,536 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Kodiak is mostly in Kodiak Island Borough.

See federal money in Kodiak Island Borough

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Kodiak, Alaska is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Nicholas J. Begich IIIR-AK · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kodiak Island Borough76100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Kodiak Island Borough

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0240950

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends