Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetAK-COLLEGE-AK · College, AK 11,730 pop · income 58th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around College
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest College on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lawrenceburg · lowest
41,458
Lawrenceburg · lowest
41,458 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #1
Elverson · near
76,823
Elverson · near
76,823 median HH income
74.7% of the leader · rank #2
College · this city
76,831
College · this city
76,831 median HH income
74.7% of the leader · rank #3
Horton Bay · near
76,833
Horton Bay · near
76,833 median HH income
74.8% of the leader · rank #4
Gholson · near
76,833
Gholson · near
76,833 median HH income
74.8% of the leader · rank #5
Ketchikan · near
76,835
Ketchikan · near
76,835 median HH income
74.8% of the leader · rank #6
North Lakes · highest
102,785
North Lakes · highest
102,785 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for College on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 11,730.
College ranks in the 58th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
58th
percentile, household income
61st
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: College, AK
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 11,730 residents in College, a small town within Alaska. Households in College report a median income of $76,831 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.0%. Home values in College run a median of $279,100, and the median resident age is 32.9 years. Educational attainment runs 44.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 55.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 30.6°F with 13.9 inches of precipitation per year and 61.5 inches of snowfall.
Alaska tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alaska scores 102.4 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,467 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $271 across Alaska, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in College report an average commute of 15.2 minutes, with 68.2% driving alone and 5.1% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 35.2 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of College's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For College, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for College?
Within Alaska, the closest population matches are North Lakes (10,583 residents, $102,785 income); Tanaina (9,738 residents, $95,587 income); Wasilla (9,435 residents, $70,756 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Winfield, KS (11,731 residents); Ontario, OR (11,728 residents); Lawrenceburg, TN (11,732 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
How far does income reach against housing in College?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What does the journey to work look like in College?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 68.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.2 minutes.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 30.6°F, with 13.9 inches of precipitation and 61.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alaska is 35.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A
2.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
44.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C
$76,831
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
102.4 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
College profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 86/100 (A) · 2.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.7%
Household income: 56/100 (C) · $76,831
Cost of living: 29/100 (F) · 102.4 index
How does College compare to other US cities?
College measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income58% higher than other cities
Home value61% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares College against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alaska only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alaska-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places College near the bottom of Alaska's cities
Among the 228 Alaska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, College ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares College only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#75 of 215
65th percentile in Alaska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 228
0th percentile in Alaska
Median Home Value
#64 of 200
68th percentile in Alaska
Poverty Rate
#184 of 225
18th percentile in Alaska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#12 of 228
95th percentile in Alaska
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alaska only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
58th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How College's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$279,10039th percentilemore affordable than 39% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
College's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,483 of 15,516
More affordable than 39% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,619 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.6×, College sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,483 of 15,516 and #1,619 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$76,831College, AK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context College, AK median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for College, AK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)44.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
11,730
Median Income
$76,831
Median Home Value
$279,100
Median Age
32.9
Poverty Rate
2.0%
Labor force participation
55.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.7%
Climate
Avg Temperature
30.6°F
Annual Precipitation
13.9"
Annual Snowfall
61.5"
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.2 minutes
Drive Alone
68.2%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
1.1%
Walk
12.3%
Work from Home
5.1%
Other
2.2%
Based on 5,527 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alaska statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $271
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alaska at $271 (electricity about $131 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alaska statewide averages, not a meter reading for College. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alaska's BEA cost-of-living index is 102.4 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around College is $1,467/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alaska statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 35.2 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alaska statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county College sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How College compares to similar-size Alaska cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.