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Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is a small city of about 31,000 people in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. It's the county seat. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. 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 1,515 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
31,468
down 2.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$268,400
Fairbanks North Star Borough prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$73,534
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Fairbanks area
103.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
To Seattle
1,515 mi
straight line

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 moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood266 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 8.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town24 public schools: 14 elementary, 3 middle, 4 high schools and 3 other.
  • A hospital close byFairbanks Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 1,515 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 Fairbanks 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
$268,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Fairbanks North Star Borough, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,496 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$73,534U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
40%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,313 a yearAlaska: $3,901
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 Fairbanks 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
31,4682020: 32,399
Median age
29 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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
Schools, health care and social services (27%); retail (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%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, in town. 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

24 public schools in Fairbanks, run by Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and Galena City School District.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Alaska Fairbanks (5,000 to 9,999 students).

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
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
-15°F
July average high
73°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
227 a year
Rain and melted snow
13 inches a year
Snow
58 inches a year
Elevation
447 feet

Weather station: Aurora (2 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: 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

27 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Ladd Field, the George C. Thomas Memorial Library, NENANA (steamer) and F. E. Company Housing. Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Campus life. Check University of Alaska Fairbanks's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Fairbanks's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fairbanks?

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

  • South Van Horn, AK (unincorporated)572 people, 4 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.