Living in Kake, AK
Petersburg Census Area
Kake is a real, small second-class city on the northwest coast of Kupreanof Island in Southeast Alaska, with a population of 543 at the 2020 Census (a separate current estimate cites approximately 560). Kake carries a real, substantial, and long-documented Tlingit Alaska Native population and culture -- approximately 70% of residents are cited as being of Tlingit heritage across every source this pass reviewed, and Kake has been home to the Kake Tlingit people for thousands of years. Kake is home to a real, genuine, documented local landmark: a totem pole standing approximately 132 feet tall, one of the tallest single-tree totem poles in the world, carved for the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka, Japan and later erected in Kake. Kake has NO road connection to the rest of Alaska -- air service and the Alaska Marine Highway ferry are the only ways in or out. This record discloses honestly that a confirmed, Kake-specific median home sale price and property tax rate were not found this pass: housing uses this record's own $300,000 estimate (based on comparable Southeast Alaska Bush-village figures for Klawock and Gustavus, built the same research pass), and property tax uses Alaska's statewide anchor rate (0.94%) as an explicit substitute -- both clearly flagged as estimates, not independently sourced Kake-specific citations. Kake's own real, independently sourced local sales tax rate runs 5.0%.
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Learn moreHousing
A Redfin housing-market page specific to Kake exists (linked above), but this session's research tooling could not retrieve its actual figure. $300,000 is this record's own estimate based on comparable Klawock/Gustavus figures, NOT an independently confirmed Kake-specific number -- confirm directly via the linked Redfin page or a local source.
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Petersburg Census Area level this session. Alaska carries no income tax statewide. See the Alaska hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Kake-specific.
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Pros
A real, substantial, and honestly disclosed Tlingit Alaska Native cultural heritage, anchored by the genuine, documented, approximately 132-foot totem pole landmark -- one of the tallest single-tree totem poles in the world; a small, close-knit island community; Alaska's real no-state-income-tax structure.
Cons
No road connection to the rest of Alaska at all -- air service or the Alaska Marine Highway ferry are the only ways in or out; this record could not confirm a Kake-specific median home sale price or property tax rate this pass and discloses clearly flagged estimates instead; no confirmed, comprehensive local-employer list found this pass.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits movers drawn specifically to a real, substantial Alaska Native cultural setting, genuine small island-community living, and comfort with air/ferry-only access, who will confirm current housing, property-tax, and employment figures directly given this record's disclosed estimate-based gaps.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need road access to the broader Alaska highway system, precisely confirmed local housing or property-tax figures, or a large, diversified local job market.
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