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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Alaska's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Anchorage at index 97, where median rent of $1,660/month saves renters $2,820/year versus the national median.
#1 Ranked: Anchorage — cost index 97, rent $1,660/mo, income $98,152
1 of 1 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Dollar for dollar, few states match Alaska's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Anchorage at index 97, where median rent of $1,660/month saves renters $2,820/year versus the national median.
Rent data is sourced from Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI), which tracks the median rent across all active listings — not just new leases. This gives a more representative and stable signal than asking prices alone. Anchorage: $1,660/mo. The cheapest city here is $235 under the national median — that's $2,820/year in savings on rent alone.
Real talk: Dive into Anchorage's numbers: cost index 97 (14 points below national average), rent $1,660/month, income $98,152, and a home price of $405,601. It's fine. Not great, not bad. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 97, while Healthcare runs 99. With 286,075 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (worth flagging for anyone on a fixed income).
It checks most boxes — but the healthcare costs are the asterisk. In Anchorage, the healthcare index sits at 99 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
286,075 residents · Alaska
A closer look at Anchorage: the cost index of 97 — worth pausing on — breaks down to a Housing index of 97 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (weakest). Median rent is $1,660/month — 12% below the national median — while household income sits at $98,152, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
Cities with the highest rents in Alaska are ranked from most expensive to least. High rent doesn't always mean unaffordable — we pair rent data with income to show the full picture. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Anchorage ranks #1 in Alaska for this analysis with a cost index of 97 and median income of $98,152.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Anchorage is $1,660/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $235 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Anchorage is $405,601, which is 4.1× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Alaska has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 1.82%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.04%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.