City · Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

Seward, Alaska

Seward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. It has 2,794 residents. Seward, Alaska has a quality-of-life score of 56 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,951 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Alaska it ranks #32 of 71 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), drought exposure (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and pharmacies (low).

56Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,951 of 15,651 cities and towns
Alaska: #32 of 71 in AK
Population: 2,794 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 200.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0268560

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 65 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.

Safety7#14,474/15,637
Economy80#3,113/15,631
Housing24#11,392/14,977
Health61#6,013/15,609
Healthcare28#11,295/15,650
Environment—
Education84#2,578/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,851/15,650
Community79#3,346/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#379/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Seward, Alaska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kenai Peninsula 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

Median Air Quality Index · low8
100/100Alaska 232024U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKenai Peninsula Borough value
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100Alaska 0%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAKenai Peninsula Borough value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high12.9 /10k
97/100Alaska 9.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKenai Peninsula Borough value
Child poverty rate · low0.0%
97/100Alaska 12.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
High school diploma or higher · high94.3%
96/100Alaska 93.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Average commute time · low12.3 min
95/100Alaska 19.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high88.2%
0/100Alaska 44.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Distance to an Amtrak station · high1,334 mi
1/100Alaska 1,315 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKenai Peninsula Borough value
Pharmacies · low0.3 /10k
2/100Alaska 0.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKenai Peninsula Borough value
Flu vaccinations · low25.0%
3/100Alaska 29.0%United States 44.0%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKenai Peninsula Borough value
Suicide rate · high29.4 /100k
4/100Alaska 30.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKenai Peninsula Borough value
Drug overdose deaths · high37.6 /100k
4/100Alaska 40.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKenai Peninsula Borough value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
59.3% (2015-2019) → 88.2% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.9% (2015-2019) → 43.0% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
23.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
6.6 min (2015-2019) → 12.3 min (2020-2024)
+85%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
19.9% (2015-2019) → 10.7% (2020-2024)
−9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
91.2% (2015-2019) → 82.7% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Seward, Alaska improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 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.

Improved2

Bachelor's++26 points16.9% → 43.0%
Uninsured−9.2 points19.9% → 10.7%

Declined2

Broadband−8.5 points91.2% → 82.7%
Rent burden+29 points59.3% → 88.2%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Seward, Alaska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	6.6 min2015-2019	12.3 min2020-2024	+5.7 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.9%2015-2019	43.0%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	100%
Broadband subscriptions	91.2%2015-2019	82.7%2020-2024	−8.5 points	Declined	1%
Effective property tax rate	0.52%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	91.8%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4112015-2019	0.3962020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$73,6112015-2019	$85,4812020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	26%
Poverty rate	12.0%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.4%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent-burdened households	59.3%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	19.9%2015-2019	10.7%2020-2024	−9.2 points	Improved	95%

“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 Seward, Alaska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Seward, 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, Seward, Alaska itself moved −6.5 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

2,794 residents (±16)

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

925 households (±172)

Seward, Alaska
Alaska share

Under $25k17%†158
$25k–50k14%†129
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

925 households (±172)

Seward, Alaska
Alaska share

Own69%634
Rent31%†291

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+18.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,061 workers (±173)

Seward, Alaska
Alaska share

Drive alone58%†613
Carpool7.4%†78
Public transit

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 Kenai Peninsula Borough, the county holding most of Seward's residents.

Kenai Peninsula Borough has 2,405 employer establishments, 393 for every 10,000 residents (1.58× the US rate of 248; 1.30× Alaska's), with 15,786 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,266. The Census Bureau also counts 7,055 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,405; 7,055 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 393; US 248 · Alaska 302
Paid employees: 15,786
Average annual pay: $63,266; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	181	29.5	1.42×More than typical	1,808	$52,917	178
Specialty trade contractors	174	28.4	1.83×More than typical	603	$66,373	428
Restaurants and other eating places	173	28.2	1.54×More than typical	1,254	$32,565	37
Construction of buildings	107	17.5	2.31×More than typical	374	$59,698	285
Lessors of real estate	99	16.2	1.31×More than typical	148	$45,932	575
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	72	11.8	4.42×More than typical	150	$48,493	84
Traveler accommodation	72	11.8	6.51×More than typical	503	$50,169	270
Offices of other health practitioners	69	11.3	1.85×More than typical	373	$50,748	114
Other amusement and recreation industries	69	11.3	4.65×More than typical	131	$50,504	80
Full-service restaurants	65	10.6	1.38×More than typical	459	$49,031	11
Building equipment contractors	58	9.5	1.57×More than typical	262	$72,061	63
Religious organizations	58	9.5	1.71×More than typical	218	$26,917	—

Rank places for an industry Open Kenai Peninsula Borough

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 61,258 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: Seward is mostly in Kenai Peninsula Borough.

See federal money in Kenai Peninsula 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.

Seward, 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.

Kenai Peninsula Borough66100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Kenai Peninsula 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/0268560

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends