About 40 miles north of Anchorage, in the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley, lies the city of Wasilla. At a population of 11,000, its size might suggest township status if Wasilla were in the Lower 48, but in sparsely populated Alaska, it ranks as the fourth largest city—and it’s growing.
Established around an Alaska Railroad depot in the early 20th century, Wasilla served as a supply center for miners, trappers and farmers until the 1970s, when construction of the George Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3) was completed. This highway connects Anchorage to Fairbanks, providing access to Denali National Park and other destinations in the Alaskan Interior. Wasilla's position on that important artery makes it a commercial center and a home base for workers across the state.
Wasilla has a long history with the railroad industry.
The Chugach Mountains Loop over Wasilla's skylike.
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Miners, pilots and oilfield workers come home to Wasilla
Big industries engaged in extracting Alaska’s natural resources draw employees from the Mat-Su Valley. “Wasilla, in general, has been a blue-collar working community. Those workers really touch the whole state, so if they’re not traveling up the North Slope doing oil field work, they’re heading into Anchorage to do blue-collar jobs or traveling across the state to different mines,” says Erich Schaal, director of public works for the City of Wasilla. “We have a high number of aviation jobs, too. We have all the aviation mechanics and the highest per capita of pilots basically in the world. Between the mining, the oil industry and the airline industry, they all basically live in the valley.”
About a third of Wasilla workers make the daily 45-mile trip to Anchorage for government, healthcare, hospitality and oil industry jobs. But community leaders are intent on creating more local opportunities. “One of Wasilla’s goals is to keep those jobs at home, so we don’t have to commute,” says Schaal. “The city is improving infrastructure on all fronts. We’re upgrading our airports so we can have more planes and bigger planes. We’re upgrading our water and sewer facilities because of growth in the commercial sector. And we’re upgrading roads and working with the DOT to alleviate traffic. We have everything going on all at once.”
A small plane sits outside this Meadow Lakes home awaiting its next adventure.
North Lake homes with the great Matanuska Peakresting behind them.
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Larger lots than Anchorage; new construction opportunities near Lake Lucille
Wasilla’s narrow residential streets fan out from the intersection of the Alaska Railroad train line and Wasilla-Fishhook Road before winding into the forested terrain. People move here for the space. “The lot sizes are a little larger in acreage, ranging from a half-acre to an acre,” says Janis Tolbert, a Realtor with Herrington and Company, LLC, who has more than 18 years of experience. “And there’s a little more building capability because of the land availability in Wasilla, but you’ve got to either stay in Wasilla or make the commute into Anchorage, and you’re looking about an hour drive.”
A housing shortage has put upward pressure on prices. The average listing price increased 6.2% from November 2023 to November 2024. The average home value in Wasilla is $430,000, below the national average of $550,000. Wasilla has pockets of land subdivided into lots for new construction, with a high concentration north of Lake Lucille on Ashworth Drive. Existing housing styles run the gamut, from traditional 2-story to ranch-style, and split-levels are still being built. “There’s a little bit of everything,” says Tolbert. “There are some homes that are built on airstrips so that if you have an airplane you can just literally taxi and bring the airplane into the hangar.”
A historical part of old Wasilla is maintained in the center of town.
A row of new constructions on the outskirts of Wasilla have larger lots and more space.
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Winter recreation and the Iditarod race in Alaska’s Great Outdoors
Mountain ranges on three sides provide iconic Alaskan vistas and temper the climate in the valley, though it does snow an average of 55 inches per year. Schaal says that Wasilla is central to all manner of outdoor recreational activities popular in the region, including off-roading with ATVs during the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. “Also fishing opportunities and hunting–lots of outdoor stuff.” Wasilla is headquarters of the annual Iditarod Dog Sled Race in March, which is a race of sled dogs across 1,000 miles of rugged terrain. The Tesoro Iron-Dog 2000 snowmobile race starts just outside Wasilla in February, with a 2,000-mile route ending at Nome on the northwest coast. The 350-acre Lucille Lake centers the city and offers camping, hiking, playgrounds and pavilions. On the city’s eastern edge, Wasilla Lake is filled with rainbow trout. Fishing is permitted at Newcomb Park, as well as swimming, boating and ice skating. For temperature-controlled recreation, the city operates the Menard Indoor Sports & Events Center, with a hockey arena, turf court, batting cage and meeting rooms. A pool located at Wasilla High School holds swimming lessons for the public.
Wasilla Lake offers South Lakes residents incredible views..
Kids cast their reels in hopes of catching a fish on Memory Lake in Tanaina.
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New East Depot Road location for train station signals interest in supporting tourism
Wasilla has some small museums, including a log cabin museum that preserves the history of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, the Wasilla Museum & Visitor Center, which celebrates cultural events such as Día de los Muertos, and the Museum of Alaska Transportation, with self-guided tours of old planes, boats and trains. But Wasilla is less of a tourist destination than it may be in the future. Early in 2024, the city moved the train stop to a historic Wasilla depot on East Depot Road, easing traffic congestion created when the stopped train had blocked major highway arteries. Now, the depot is being improved with paved parking, walkways, streetlights and landscaping. “One of the things that the council wants to do is to have a more inviting facility around that new train stop so that visitors get off the train and come and see parts of Wasilla,” says Schaal.
Wasilla has a few fine dining options and both locally owned and chain restaurants. Most are along Parks Highway, with a few breweries and boutiques dotting the city’s center. There are grocery stores and big box stores like Target and Walmart on the east side. Nearby downtown Anchorage has a more developed and varied shopping and dining scene to serve the large population and its surrounding areas.
A recently renovated library welcomes Wasilla locals.
Basil Ginger is Wasilla's favorite Thai restaurant.
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Planes, trains and 4WD automobiles traverse Mat-Su Valley
Most Wasilla residents use 4-wheel drive motor vehicles to navigate the terrain during the winter months. The George Parks Highway and Glenn Highway (Alaska Route 1) provide access to nearby Palmer and Anchorage, and beyond to Fairbanks. Alaska Railroad connects Wasilla to Anchorage, but the travel time is 90 minutes, and the railroad is not currently used for commuting. However, civic leaders and groups are exploring funding for a commuter rail route to shorten the travel time. The nonprofit Valley Transit operates commuter buses and has park & ride lots in Wasilla. Air travel in small planes is common in the area as a way of reaching remote locations. The Wasilla Airport, on the west side of town, has a traffic control center, and the area has multiple private airstrips. Commercial airlines fly out of Anchorage International Airport, about 50 miles away.
Mat-Su Valley schools and hospitals close at hand
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School System, graded B-plus by Niche, serves Wasilla. It includes Iditarod Elementary School, Wasilla Middle School and Wasilla High School located within the city limits. Mat-Su Central School is a public kindergarten through 12th grade hybrid homeschool. It offers specialized classes at its central Wasilla location and personalized online learning for students in far-flung geographical locations. Wasilla Medical Clinic on the east side of town provides urgent care and doctor visits. The 125-bed Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is under 6 miles away.
Colony High is a comprehensive high school located in the heart of beautiful Mat-Su Valley.
Wasilla High ranks a 7/10 for college readiness on Greatschools.com
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Wasilla’s crime rate hovers above national average
Crime rates have risen slightly since 2020 and are higher in Wasilla than the national average, according to FBI data. The rate of violent crimes in December 2023 was 1.19 per 1,000 residents nationally, as compared to 1.99 per 1,000 residents in Wasilla. The national rate for property crime was 1.70 per 1,000 residents in December 2023, as compared to 3.19 per 1,000 residents in Wasilla.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
