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Towns / Alaska

Big Lake, Alaska

Big Lake is an unincorporated community of about 3,600 people in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Seattle, is about 1,445 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
3,585
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$298,700
Matanuska-Susitna Borough prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$81,406
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Anchorage area
105.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Anchorage, AK
To Seattle
1,445 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.4% above the U.S. average in the Anchorage metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Houston High School, about 9 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAlaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 1,445 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 Big Lake 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.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 41% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$298,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,235 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$81,406U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,174 a yearAlaska: $3,901
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
41%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
105.4U.S. average = 100 (the Anchorage metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Anchorage metro area, not Big Lake 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
3,585The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
38.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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
Schools, health care and social services (22%); construction (19%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
43 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
22%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Alaska Regional Hospital, Anchorage, AK, about 22 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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 Big Lake, run by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. The nearest public high school is Houston High School, about 9 miles away.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
-2°F
July average high
71°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
228 a year
Rain and melted snow
17.7 inches a year
Snow
70 inches a year
Elevation
181 feet

Weather stations: Whites Crossing (13 miles away) and Eagle Rvr Gakona Circle (20 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Alaska Regional Hospital, Anchorage, Seattle.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Big Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Big Lake?

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

Smaller places

  • Point MacKenzie, AK (unincorporated)1,668 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.