Living in Meadow Lakes, Alaska: homes, schools and costs

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 4 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 town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 2 K-12 and 2 other.
A hospital close byMat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 1,439 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 Meadow Lakes 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: $323,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 20%Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,377 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $81,699U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,523 a yearAlaska: $3,901
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 23%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 10%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 Meadow Lakes 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: 8,689The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 38.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%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 (14%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 39 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, Palmer, AK, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

5 public schools in Meadow Lakes, run by Matanuska-Susitna 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 11°F
July average high: 67°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 0 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 194 a year
Rain and melted snow: 18.8 inches a year
Snow: 62 inches a year
Elevation: 372 feet

Weather station: Anderson Lake (9 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

Mat-Su Regional Medical CenterEmergency room13

Anchorage, AKCity of 287,00034

Seattle, WAMetro of 4.2 million1,439

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: Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, 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 Meadow Lakes's history on Wikipedia.

Know Meadow Lakes?

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

Tanaina, AK9,600 people, 6 miles
Wasilla, AK10,600 people, 6 miles
Houston, AK2,300 people, 6 miles
Knik-Fairview, AK20,000 people, 9 miles
North Lakes, AK10,200 people, 10 miles
South Lakes, AK6,200 people, 10 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.