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Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK

Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Kenai Peninsula Borough residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

23.7%
low-access pop.
3
food-desert tracts
9.6%
on SNAP
60K
residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA 2019 Census ACS 2024 AK

USDA FARA access plate

County Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK

LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-POCKET · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-MIXED

  • LA-ELEVATED 23.7% low-access
  • ABOVE-NATIONAL +1.6 pts vs US
  • LILA-POCKET 3 food-desert tracts
  • SNAP-LIGHT 9.6% SNAP
  • VEH-OK 4.9% no vehicle
  • DENSITY-MIXED 23% tracts LILA

Nearest low-access peer: Nome Census Area ( -0.6 pts)

The food-access picture

According to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, Kenai Peninsula Borough ranks #1,383 of 3,079 U.S. counties by low-access share and #17 of 27 counties in AK (23.7% low-access; 3 food-desert tracts).

#1,383
national by low-access %
#17
in AK
8
low-access tracts
4K
food-desert residents

Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA).

Signature read: 44 SNAP-authorized stores .

How Kenai Peninsula Borough compares nationally

Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Kenai Peninsula Borough's 23.7% low-access share is elevated, higher than 56% of them and ranked #1,387 most-affected nationwide.

lower low-accesshigher low-access

Kenai Peninsula Borough: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown

13 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 3 LILA.

Food access tier distribution for Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK USDA-defined food-access tiers: 5 census tracts adequate (within distance threshold), 5 limited, 3 severe (low-income low-access food desert). Total 13 tracts evaluated. 5 tracts adequate (38.5%) 5 tracts limited (38.5%) 3 tracts severe / food desert (23.1%) Adequate 38% Limited 38% Severe 23% Food-access tier distribution: Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas 2019

By USDA urbanicity classification, Kenai Peninsula Borough has 1 urban and 12 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.

Kenai Peninsula Borough low-access neighbourhood

Poles + nearest peers in Alaska, not a full county-board reprint

% low-access
Source USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas As of 2019 edition

Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)

USDA Food Access Research Atlas 2019 indicators for Kenai Peninsula Borough
IndicatorValue
Census Tracts13
Atlas Population (2010 basis)55,400
Low-Access Tracts8
Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access)3
Low-Access Population13,104
Low-Access Share23.7%near the national average
Low-Income & Low-Access Population4,359

Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)

Census ACS 2024 demographic and SNAP data for Kenai Peninsula Borough
IndicatorValue
Population60,413
Median Household Income$80,538
Poverty Rate11.8%below the national average
SNAP Households2,329
SNAP Participation Rate9.6%below the national average
Households Without a Vehicle4.9%well below the national average
Group-Quarters Population3.2%

Thick SNAP store book in Kenai Peninsula Borough

Kenai Peninsula Borough has 44 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 7 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 26 locations (59% of the total), followed by supermarket.

Convenience Store · 26

  • big johns 1, soldotna
  • big johns kenai 3, kenai
  • big johns short stop 2, soldotna
  • crabpot grocery, seldovia
  • cook's corner, sterling
  • english bay general store, nanwalek
  • frontier healing arts & sciences, llc, seward
  • holiday 2746635, soldotna
  • holiday 2746636, kenai
  • inlet grocery, anchor point
  • kasil of mercantile, kasilof
  • m & m market, kenai
  • maggie's general store, kenai
  • seward marketplace, seward
  • tj seggys, soldotna
  • tesoro 2 go 60201, kenai
  • tesoro 2 go 60203, soldotna
  • tesoro 2 go 60206, kenai
  • tesoro 2 go 60207, soldotna
  • the goods + sustainable grocery, soldotna
  • the warehouse, anchor point
  • three bears alaska 52, kenai
  • three bears ninilchik #55, ninilchik
  • vaughn's mini mart, soldotna
  • vitus marine sterling stl, sterling
  • winginit groceries, kenai

Supermarket · 6

  • safeway 548, soldotna
  • safeway - oaken keg 1832, homer
  • safeway 1808, kenai
  • safeway 2728, seward
  • three bears cooper landing 57, cooper landing
  • three bears sterling 56, sterling

Combination Grocery/Other · 4

  • save-u-more 2, soldotna
  • save-u-more 4, homer
  • variety store llc, port graham
  • walgreens 16059, soldotna

Super Store · 4

  • country foods, kenai
  • fred meyer 17, soldotna
  • three bears kenai 50, kenai
  • walmart 4474, kenai

Bakery Specialty · 2

  • franz bakery outlet 9083, soldotna
  • papa murphy's pizza wa127, soldotna

Farmers' Market · 1

  • homer farmers market, homer

Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1

  • echo lake meats, llc, soldotna

Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).

Other Counties in Alaska

One of 29 counties in Alaska, 6 are shown here.

Aleutians East Borough
39.0% low-access · 14.5% SNAP
Aleutians West Census Area
21.4% low-access · 4.8% SNAP
Anchorage Municipality
28.4% low-access · 8.7% SNAP
Bethel Census Area
68.6% low-access · 42.4% SNAP
Bristol Bay Borough
56.3% low-access · 5.2% SNAP
Chugach Census Area
ACS data only · 9.8% SNAP

Compare Kenai Peninsula Borough vs Aleutians East Borough → · All Alaska counties →

Nationwide peers for Kenai Peninsula Borough's low-access or SNAP share

Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Kenai Peninsula Borough, both outside Alaska so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.

Similar low-access share

Nearest low-access rates outside AK (23.7% here).

Similar SNAP participation

Nearest household SNAP rates outside AK (9.6% here).

Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.

Food access nationally, Alaska in context

Kenai Peninsula Borough sits inside Alaska (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.

AK 31 ME 13 VT 11 NH 28 WA 23 ID 26 MT 22 ND 29 MN 27 IL 20 WI 21 MI 23 NY 12 RI 24 MA 28 OR 17 NV 23 WY 30 SD 29 IA 20 IN 29 OH 25 PA 21 NJ 24 CT - CA 13 UT 24 CO 22 NE 22 MO 25 KY 20 WV 21 VA 20 MD 23 DE 27 AZ 27 NM 32 KS 26 AR 25 TN 27 NC 23 SC 29 DC 5 OK 25 LA 26 MS 26 AL 25 GA 31 HI 27 TX 25 FL 25

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

Read with this county

Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .

PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 02122. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.

Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.