States · Alaska · Kenai Peninsula Borough

Nikiski, Alaska.

A community in Kenai Peninsula Borough, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Kenai Peninsula Borough’s.

Living in Nikiski, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

Nikiski, in Kenai Peninsula Borough, had 4,456 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $65,863 a year and half less, against $80,538 across Kenai Peninsula Borough; 16% of its people live below the poverty line. 79% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 21% are rented. Unemployment in Kenai Peninsula Borough was 3.4% in August 2026, and the county had 1.2% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then construction.

People 4,456 in the 2020 census; median age 36.5
Household income $65,863 the median, give or take $12,169 · Kenai Peninsula Borough: $80,538
Unemployment 3.4% Kenai Peninsula Borough, August 2026; 3.6% a year before
Homes 79% lived in by their owners; 21% rented
  • 1,577households
  • 14%of adults have a degree
  • 16%below the poverty line
  • 28 mintypical commute
  • 0%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care21%
  • Building trades16%
  • Farming, forestry and mining16%
  • Shops (retail)10%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment8%
  • Government8%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Kenai Peninsula Borough had 21,722 jobs in 2025, 1.2% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 22° and 8°; warmest in July, 63° and 49° 0° 20° 40° 60° J 22° 8° F M A M J J 63° 49° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 22° and 8°; warmest in July, 63° and 49° 0° 20° 40° 60° J 22° 8° F M A M J J 63° 49° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 22° and lows near 8°; warmest in July, with highs near 63° and lows near 49°.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Kenai 9N weather station, 5 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Kenai Peninsula Borough

  1. Central Peninsula General HospitalGeneral hospital1,116FTE
  2. Kenai Peninsula Borough School DistrictSchool district1,112FTE
  3. South Peninsula HospitalCritical access hospital448FTE
  4. Kenaitze Indian TribeAmerican indian or alaska native tribal councils400
  5. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters301
  6. Marathon Petroleum CompanyPetroleum refineries262
  7. Fred Meyer StoresWarehouse clubs and supercenters248
  8. State of Alaska138

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 42 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 4,331 people in all across the county; Nikiski has one of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. EarthquakesVery high
  2. AvalanchesVery high
  3. Winter weatherVery high
  4. WildfireRelatively high

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Nikiski’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Kenai Peninsula Borough.