The cost of living in Alaska is 0.4% higher than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Alaska is $90,080 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Alaska household is $77,790.
The average home price in Alaska is $275,600, which is higher than the US average home price of $229,800. Median rent in Alaska is $1,240/mo which is higher than the US average rent of $1,096/mo. If you want to adjust homes prices to local incomes, the ratio of home prices to median household income is about 3.5 to 1. That means it takes roughly 3.5 years of a full salary to pay off a house. That compares to the national average of 3.5 to 1.
All in all, Alaska has a high cost of living compared to America as a whole.
Yes, Alaska is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #6 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Alaska ranks most dangerous in the United States -- 126.57% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Last Frontier ranks 13th most dangerous in the United States -- 15.66% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Yes, Anchorage is a dangerous city. Anchorage ranks as the #99 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Anchorage might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Rabbit Creek is the safest in Anchorage, while Mountain View is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Anchorage ranks 26th highest in America -- 107.89% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 139th highest in the United States -- 1.29% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is "dangerous". Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
The county in Alaska with the lowest cost of living is Kusilvak Census Area. The average living wage in Kusilvak Census Area is $75,124 according to MIT data. Kusilvak Census Area has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Alaska as a whole. Childcare costs $7,708 a year in Kusilvak Census Area for two children compared to the Alaska average of $16,624. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $10,356 per year in Kusilvak Census Area compared to $14,566 on average in Alaska.
The cheapest housing market in Alaska is Mountain Village. The average home value in Mountain Village is $23,600, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Alaska is $275,600, almost 11.7 times higher than Mountain Village.
