Cost of living in Alaska

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).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

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.

• Anchorage Municipality

  Population

  289K

  Rent

  $1,489

  Household income

  $103,284

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,982

  Set as targetPlan

• Matanuska-Susitna Borough

  Population

  113K

  Rent

  $1,299

  Household income

  $94,031

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,685

  Set as targetPlan

• Fairbanks North Star Borough

  Population

  95.5K

  Rent

  $1,459

  Household income

  $88,267

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,550

  Set as targetPlan

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.

• Denali National Park & Preserve

  Six million acres of taiga forest, alpine tundra and snowy mountains along one road, below North America's tallest peak.

• Kenai Fjords National Park

  Nearly 40 glaciers that flow from the Harding Icefield toward fjords at the edge of the Kenai Peninsula.

• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

  The trails and boomtowns that thousands of gold seekers passed through on the way to the Klondike.

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.

Side by side

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

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.

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.