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Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I'd much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I'd rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Anchorage might be more expensive than living in rural Alaska, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Anchorage neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further -- you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Anchorage are the cheapest.
The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Anchorage For 2022
What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Anchorage for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Turnagain Arm looks to be the cheaptest Anchorage neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for -- some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Anchorage. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Anchorage that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you're interested in the worst neighborhoods in Anchorage.
Once you're done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more Alaska reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Alaska
- Cheapest Places To Live In Alaska
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Anchorage For 2022
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Population: 655
Cost Of Living Index: 113 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.007 (7th cheapest)
More on Turnagain Arm: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 1,302
Cost Of Living Index: 106 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (12th cheapest)
More on Government Hill: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 4,956
Cost Of Living Index: 105 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (20th cheapest)
More on Midtown: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 596
Cost Of Living Index: 124 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (5th cheapest)
More on Girdwood: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 1,956
Cost Of Living Index: 130 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (4th cheapest)
More on Birchwood: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 28,773
Cost Of Living Index: 118 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (16th cheapest)
More on Northeast: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 3,429
Cost Of Living Index: 118 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (18th cheapest)
More on North Star: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 6,816
Cost Of Living Index: 107 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (33rd cheapest)
More on Mountain View: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 11,666
Cost Of Living Index: 112 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.9 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (23rd cheapest)
More on Russian Jack Park: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 10,534
Cost Of Living Index: 140 (28th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.8 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.005 (3rd cheapest)
More on Huffman-O'malley: Homes For Sale | Data
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Anchorage Hoods In 2022
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Anchorage, we had to determine what criteria defines "cheap".
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 35 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the "Cheapest City Neighborhood In Anchorage." We're lookin' at you, Turnagain Arm.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the cheapest places Anchorage. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Anchorage
If you're measuring the neighborhoods in Anchorage where prices are low and it's cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Anchorage aren't all cheap. Hillside East takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Anchorage.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Alaska reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In Alaska
- Richest Cities In Alaska
- Safest Places In Alaska
- Worst Places To Live In Alaska
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Anchorage For 2022
Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
---|---|---|
1 | Turnagain Arm | 113 |
2 | Government Hill | 106 |
3 | Midtown | 105 |
4 | Girdwood | 124 |
5 | Birchwood | 130 |
6 | Northeast | 118 |
7 | North Star | 118 |
8 | Mountain View | 107 |
9 | Russian Jack Park | 112 |
10 | Huffman-O'malley | 140 |
11 | Abbott Loop | 125 |
12 | University Area | 121 |
13 | Eagle River | 135 |
14 | Taku-Campbell | 123 |
15 | Bayshore-Klatt | 131 |
16 | Rogers Park | 127 |
17 | Scenic Foothills | 130 |
18 | Mid-Hillside | 158 |
19 | Tudor Area | 131 |
20 | Sand Lake | 130 |
21 | Spenard | 116 |
22 | Campbell Park | 124 |
23 | Chugiak | 131 |
24 | Old Seward-Oceanview | 138 |
25 | Airport Heights | 120 |
26 | Bear Valley | 159 |
27 | Rabbit Creek | 153 |
28 | Basher | 129 |
29 | Downtown | 109 |
30 | Fairview | 115 |
31 | Turnagain | 133 |
32 | South Fork | 154 |
33 | Eagle River Valley | 143 |
34 | South Addition | 146 |
35 | Hillside East | 183 |