Cost of living in Alaska

Rent, income, home value and property tax for Alaska, home to 736K people, then the same for each of its 30 counties. Every figure is the published one, with its source named.

Alaska at a glance

Median rent
$1,419
Census ACS, B25064, monthly
Median household income
$92,788
Census ACS, B19013, yearly
Median home value
$352,900
Census ACS, B25077
Median property tax bill
$3,901
Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners
Mean commute
19 min
Census ACS, DP03, one way
Unemployment
5.9%
Census ACS, DP03

Alaska's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 2% above the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Alaska

These are the most populous places in Alaska, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

Alaska, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on January 3, 1959, as the 49th state. A Russian expedition led by Vitus Bering reached the region in 1728. The United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 under a treaty negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Alaska

Current owners in Alaska pay a median 1.11% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $3,901 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,139 in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area to $4,982 in Anchorage Municipality. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Alaska

Life expectancy
76.3 yrs
County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics
No health insurance
13.3%
County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65
Poor or fair health
15.5%
County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted
Injury deaths per 100K people
108
County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Alaska as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Alaska

Expected yearly loss, statewide
$896M
All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more
Building loss rate
$3.12
Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states
Costliest hazard
Earthquake
$664M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses
Air quality
—
The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Alaska

Permitted in 2025

848homes

Per 1,000 residents

1.2

Single-family · larger buildings

573 · 275

  1. 1,4202020
  2. 1,5522021
  3. 5782022
  4. 9372023
  5. 1,0322024
  6. 8482025

Alaska approved permits for 848 new homes in 2025. That is about 1.2 homes for every 1,000 people. 573 were single-family houses, and 275 were in buildings with two or more homes. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count stayed between 578 and 1,552.

51st of the 50 states and DC by homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025.

A permit lets a home be built. It does not mean the home is finished. Some offices did not report, so part of this figure is a Census estimate. The offices that did report account for 823. Source: US Census Building Permits Survey, annual 2025 data.

Side by side

Anchorage Municipality, AK is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Alaska

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

  1. 1Anchorage Municipality289K
  2. 2Matanuska-Susitna Borough113K
  3. 3Fairbanks North Star Borough95.5K
  4. 4Kenai Peninsula Borough60.4K
  5. 5Juneau City and Borough31.8K
  6. 6Bethel Census Area18.4K
  7. 7Ketchikan Gateway Borough13.8K
  8. 8Kodiak Island Borough12.8K
  9. 9North Slope Borough10.8K
  10. 10Nome Census Area9,866

All 30 counties in Alaska

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Aleutians East Borough$979—
Aleutians West Census Area$1,982—
Anchorage Municipality$1,489$4,982
Bethel Census Area$1,474—
Bristol Bay Borough$1,317—
Chugach Census Area$1,369$3,379
Copper River Census Area$1,089—
Denali Borough$825—
Dillingham Census Area$1,105$2,738
Fairbanks North Star Borough$1,459$3,550
Haines Borough$1,087$2,445
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area——
Juneau City and Borough$1,444$4,251
Kenai Peninsula Borough$1,184$2,049
Ketchikan Gateway Borough$1,505$2,619
Kodiak Island Borough$1,765$3,569
Kusilvak Census Area$833—
Lake and Peninsula Borough$936—
Matanuska-Susitna Borough$1,299$3,685
Nome Census Area$1,394$3,264
North Slope Borough$1,254$2,305
Northwest Arctic Borough$1,350—
Petersburg Borough$950$1,896
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area$964$1,139
Sitka City and Borough$1,341$2,080
Skagway Municipality$1,280$1,634
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area$1,351—
Wrangell City and Borough$993$1,673
Yakutat City and Borough$1,330—
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area$1,084—

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

  • State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
  • County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
  • Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
  • Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
  • Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
  • Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
  • Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Alaska next to your own state, by what you value.

  • See Alaska beside your own state

    Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

    Find your fit

  • Pick a county here and make it your target

    The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

    See the three counties