Southcentral - Soldotna

The population of the community consists of 6.9% Alaska Native or part Native. The Kenai River offers top trophy king salmon fishing during June and July. A 97 lb. 4 oz. world record king salmon was taken from these waters in 1985, and catching kings of over 60 pounds is not uncommon here. The Central Peninsula Sports Center provides an ice rink, racquetball courts, weight room and meeting facilities. During the 2000 U.S. Census, total housing units numbered 1,670, and vacant housing units numbered 205. Vacant housing units used only seasonally numbered 59. U.S. Census data for Year 2000 showed 1,687 residents as employed. The unemployment rate at that time was 8.91 percent, although 36.89 percent of all adults were not in the work force. The median household income was $48,420, per capita income was $21,740, and 6.59 percent of residents were living below the poverty level.

Facilities, Utilities, Schools and Health Care
All homes are completely plumbed. Water is derived from four wells, is treated, stored, and piped throughout the community. A new million-gallon steel tank and a second 500,000-gal. tank, built in the 1970s, now provide sufficient capacity. Piped sewage receives secondary treatment with an activated sludge process; effluent discharges into the Kenai River. Individual wells and septic tanks are used by a few households outside of the core area. Refuse is collected by a private company, and disposed of in the Borough's Class 1 regional landfill and baling facility at mile 98.5 Sterling Hwy. in Soldotna. Recycling and hazardous waste disposal are available. Natural gas from Enstar is primarily used by residents for home heating. Homer Electric Assoc. operates the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project and is part owner of the Alaska Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, which operates a gas turbine plant in Soldotna. It also purchases electricity from Chugach Electric. Electricity is provided by Alaska Electric G&T; Homer Electric Assoc. There are 10 schools located in the community,  attended by 3,560 students. Local hospitals or health clinics include Central Peninsula General Hospital (907-714-4404) www.cpgh.org; Central Peninsula Health Center (907-262-4120).  The hospital is a qualified Acute Care facility and provides Critical Care Air Ambulance Service. Long Term Care: Heritage Place. Specialized Care: Frontier Training Center (health care, counseling, lodging); Family Recovery Center. Soldotna is classified as a small city, it is found in EMS Region 2J in the Kenai Peninsula Region. Emergency Services have highway, airport and floatplane access. Emergency service is provided by 911 Telephone Service and paid EMS Service  Auxiliary health care is provided by Various physician clinics.