The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.8% below the U.S. average in the parts of Alaska outside metro areas.
- More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Akutan to say.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Akutan itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
- Schools in town1 public school: 1 K-12 and 1 other.
- A hospital close byBristol Bay Dba Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham, about 437 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 1,913 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Akutan meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $93,300U.S.: $332,700
- Homes built before 1940
- 0%U.S.: 12%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 3%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 96.2U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Alaska outside metro areas)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Alaska outside metro areas, not Akutan alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,5912020: 1,584
- Median age
- 41.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 6%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 4%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 25%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 27%U.S.: 6%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Government (12%); wholesale trade (5%)
- Unemployment rate
- 5%U.S.: 5%
- Below the poverty line
- 20%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Bristol Bay Dba Kanakanak Hospital, Dillingham, AK, about 437 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.
Nearest general hospital: Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Reg Hospital, Bethel, AK, about 483 miles away. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
1 public school in Akutan, run by Aleutians East Borough School District.
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Alaska's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Weather
- January average low
- 29°F
- July average high
- 57°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 0 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 112 a year
- Elevation
- 1,002 feet
Weather station: Dutch Harbor (36 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bristol Bay Dba Kanakanak Hospital, Anchorage, Seattle.
Aleutians East Borough is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Read about Akutan's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Unalaska, AK4,300 people, 35 miles
- Dillingham, AK2,100 people, 437 miles
- Bethel, AK6,600 people, 483 miles
- Hooper Bay, AK1,300 people, 509 miles
- Kodiak, AK5,300 people, 573 miles
- Mill Bay, AK3,700 people, 575 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.