Badger ranks #10 in Alaska for trails
Badger is ranked on 32 lists against the 41 Alaska towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 1.
Hotter summers than 93% of Alaska
Not better or worse, just Badger’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Badger out-ranks 0 of its 2 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
2 spots from the top 10 for walkable streets
Lists where Badger sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Badger lands in the top half on 6 of 19 lists
Each dot is Badger’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in AK, the right end is last. Areas where Badger does best come first.
The lists Badger does best on
Each list ranks every AK town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Badger marked.
Every AK list, and where Badger lands
33 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Petersburg · 84%
#21
Most trails#1 College · 5.2 mi / sq mi
#10
Most walkable#1 Palmer · 59.5 / sq mi
#12 Health
Healthiest#1 Chena Ridge · 91 / 100
#23
Lowest obesity#1 Kodiak · 30%
#25
Fewest smokers#1 Chena Ridge · 12%
#14
J
Most active#1 Juneau city and · 17%
#17
Fewest uninsured#1 Chena Ridge · 7%
#20
Lowest depression#1 Unalaska · 14%
#26 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Ester · 2.8 yrs
#12
Cheapest rent#1 Goldstream · $847/mo
#33
Lowest property tax#1 Kotzebue · $199/yr
#23 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Kotzebue · 6.1 min
#24 People
Most educated#1 Goldstream · 68.6%
#31
Youngest#1 Eielson AFB · 22.3
#16
Oldest#1 Sterling · 46.8
#26
Most residents 65+#1 Sterling · 27.7%
#27
Most kids#1 Eielson AFB · 37.2%
#22 
Schools
Best schools#1 Petersburg · +23.2 pts
#30
J
Highest graduation rate#1 Juneau city and · 86%
#27 Climate
Snowiest#1 Valdez · 325 in
#26
K
Least snow#1 Ketchikan · 35 in
#10
S
Mildest winters#1 Sitka city and · 32.4°
#37
Hottest summers#1 Goldstream · 73.0°
#4
Coolest summers#1 Utqiaġvik · 47.7°
#38
S
Longest growing season#1 Sitka city and · 201 days
#31
K
Wettest#1 Ketchikan · 150 in
#37 
Safety
Safest#1 Unalaska · 7.0
The number on the right is Badger’s spot. All of Alaska’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every AK list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.