Kenai, Alaska
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Growing. Up 6.5% since 2020.
7,924
people, the 7th-largest of Alaska's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Alaska's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
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The workday
7 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
70.0%
of 3,562 jobs located in Kenai are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2016. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 49% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$1,138
a month. Alaska's median is $1,419.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.
A $811 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Kenai Peninsula Borough.
- $575 Tract 12
- $1,386 Tract 4
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.
$862–$1,292
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $1,138 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2016 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 231 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
- 16% of those were in multifamily buildings
- 79% of all homes were built before 2000
Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.3–1.0% to the 3,456 homes here.
10–36
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2016 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
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Home value
A median home costs 20% less than Alaska's.
$283,900
median home value in Kenai.
- $283,900 Kenai
- $352,900 Alaska
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year