Old Harbor is a tiny coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 207 people and just one neighborhood, Old Harbor is the 63rd largest community in Alaska.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Old Harbor is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Old Harbor is a city of sales and office workers, managers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Old Harbor who work in office and administrative support (38.46%), management occupations (28.85%), and maintenance occupations (5.77%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 9.62% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Overall, Old Harbor’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which makes a great place to live if safety is an important concern.
It is a fairly quiet city because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Old Harbor has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Old Harbor has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Old Harbor than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Old Harbor may be for you.
Old Harbor is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Old Harbor spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 7.50 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
Old Harbor is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
In Old Harbor, just 10.10% of people have at least a bachelor's degree, which is quite a bit lower than the national average for cities and towns of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Old Harbor in 2022 was $21,038, which is low income relative to Alaska and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $84,152 for a family of four. However, Old Harbor contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Old Harbor also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 56.17% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Old Harbor is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Old Harbor home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Old Harbor residents report their race to be Native American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Old Harbor include German, Russian, Norwegian, French Canadian, and Swedish.
The most common language spoken in Old Harbor is English. Other important languages spoken here include Pacific Island languages and Polish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
This neighborhood has wide open spaces, few people, and lots of space to stretch out. If you like locations that fit that description, you may like this neighborhood. Based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, with only 0 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 99.6% of America. is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 49.6%, which is higher than 98.8% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
The neighborhood has a greater proportion of government workers living in it than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. This is a unique feature of this neighborhood, and one that shapes its character.
Furthermore, each year, fewer and fewer Americans make their living as farmers, foresters, or fishers. But the neighborhood truly stands out among U.S. neighborhoods. According to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, this neighborhood has a greater proportion of farmers, foresters, or fishers than 98.1% of all American neighborhoods. This is truly a unique cultural characteristic of this neighborhood.
In the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 18.2% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.9% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 59.3% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
If you're looking for a great spot to raise a family, then look no further than the neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that the combination of good quality public schools, above-average safety from crime, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family homes, help make this neighborhood among the top 13.0% of family-friendly neighborhoods across the state of Alaska. In addition, there are a high proportion of other families with school-aged children living here, making it easy for parents and their children to socialize and develop a sense of community support. In addition, families here highly value education, as is reflected by the strength of the local schools, in part due to the educational attainment of the parents here, who vote in support of the public schools.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Austrian and Danish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.7% of this neighborhood's residents have Austrian ancestry and 6.1% have Danish ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 5.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Old Harbor are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 56.0% of the neighborhoods in America. With 12.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 57.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 36.3% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions, with 25.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (24.7%), and 23.2% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
Languages
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 88.3% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Native American languages, Spanish and Russian.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Old Harbor, AK, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Native American (25.9%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (8.2%), and residents who report Danish roots (6.1%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (6.0%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (5.2%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (59.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (49.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (18.2%) and 17.5% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
