Seldovia is a tiny coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 250 people and just one neighborhood, Seldovia is the 62nd largest community in Alaska.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Seldovia is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Seldovia is a city of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Seldovia who work in management occupations (27.96%), office and administrative support (15.05%), and teaching (11.83%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.93% 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.
Another notable thing is that Seldovia is a major vacation destination. Much of the city’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Seldovia’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
The city is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Seldovia has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Seldovia a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.
Seldovia 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 8.75 minutes getting to work every day.
Being a small city, Seldovia does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
The overall education level of Seldovia citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 30.06% of adults in Seldovia have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.
The per capita income in Seldovia in 2022 was $49,596, which is wealthy relative to Alaska and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $198,384 for a family of four. However, Seldovia contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Seldovia is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Seldovia home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Seldovia residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Seldovia include English, European, German, Norwegian, and Russian.
The most common language spoken in Seldovia is English. Other important languages spoken here include German/Yiddish and African languages.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
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 1 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 99.4% of America. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. 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.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 58.7% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
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. 71.9% 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 98.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
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 97.6% of all American neighborhoods. This is truly a unique cultural characteristic of this neighborhood.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the neighborhood buck this trend. 34.0% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
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 15.8% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 97.4% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, if your dream is to be able to ride your bike to work each day, look no further than this unique neighborhood. With 3.9% of residents in the neighborhood commuting on a bicycle to and from work daily, this neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 97.1% of all neighborhoods in the U.S., according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis.
For many reasons, is rated by NeighborhoodScout as one of the top 2.8% of ideal neighborhoods for first-time home buyers in the state of Alaska. Homes here are priced below median housing values in the state, yet the neighborhood has a track record according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive neighborhood home appreciation rates of above average real estate appreciation over the last five years compared to other AK neighborhoods, protecting your investment in your first home, while simultaneously making it less risky for your lender. Not only does this neighborhood stand out for combining price and home value stability or increases, it also is a neighborhood with a high quality resident population according exclusive data, meaning this is likely a good place to buy, live, and enjoy. While many first time home buyers focus purely on low cost and convenient location, which can risk your investment in your first home and put you in a less than desirable neighborhood, this neighborhood is a true standout for a lot of reasons, and definitely worth a look if you are a first time home buyer.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Native American and Russian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 25.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Native American ancestry and 3.5% have Russian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 16.2% 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 99.8% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Seldovia are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 55.9% of the neighborhoods in America. With 11.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 54.5% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 48.7% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 22.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (14.0%), and 9.6% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 85.4% of households. Some people also speak Native American languages (16.2%).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Seldovia, AK, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Native American (25.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (10.2%), and residents who report Irish roots (7.0%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (4.7%), along with some Russian ancestry residents (3.5%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (71.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (52.3%) 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 (15.8%) and 9.3% 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.
