Living in Ester, Alaska: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.2% above the U.S. average in the Fairbanks-College metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Ester to say.
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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Effie Kokrine Charter School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byFairbanks Memorial Hospital in Fairbanks, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 1,525 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 Ester 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: $255,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 15%Fairbanks North Star Borough, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,208 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 7%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 103.2U.S. average = 100 (the Fairbanks-College 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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fairbanks-College metro area, not Ester 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: 2,752The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 38 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 13%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%
College students: 10%share of all residents

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: Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (7%)
Work from home: 10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Fairbanks, AK, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

There are no public schools inside Ester itself. The nearest public high school is Effie Kokrine Charter School, about 6 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.

Weather

January average low: -1°F
July average high: 69°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 0 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 214 a year
Rain and melted snow: 17.2 inches a year
Snow: 78 inches a year
Elevation: 1,988 feet

Weather station: Keystone Ridge (7 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

Fairbanks Memorial HospitalEmergency room9

Anchorage, AKCity of 287,000259

Seattle, WAMetro of 4.2 million1,525

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: Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Anchorage, Seattle.

Fairbanks North Star Borough is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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, including the Ester Camp Historic District.

Read about Ester's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ester?

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

Goldstream, AK3,300 people, 4 miles
Chena Ridge, AK5,900 people, 6 miles
College, AK11,900 people, 7 miles
Farmers Loop, AK5,000 people, 10 miles
Fairbanks, AK31,000 people, 12 miles
Steele Creek, AK5,900 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

South Van Horn, AK (unincorporated)572 people, 9 miles

Sources

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.