Overall
105.4
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Anchorage, AK
Cost-of-living indicators for Anchorage, AK, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 105.4
- Overall RPP
- #28
- of 387 metros
- 109.9
- Rents RPP
- $95K
- $100K national buys
Anchorage ranks #28 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
The verdict
Anchorage is more expensive than 93% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 105.4, 5.4% above the national average, led by services at 111.8.
- top 7%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 107.3
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 111.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $94,859 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $105,420.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Anchorage's overall RPP fell -1.4 points, from 106.8 in 2023 to 105.4 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 120.8 to 109.9. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.0 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index dropped 5.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Anchorage overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 106.5 |
| 2009 | 111.8 |
| 2010 | 106.2 |
| 2011 | 106.7 |
| 2012 | 107.2 |
| 2013 | 106.4 |
| 2014 | 104.9 |
| 2015 | 105.7 |
| 2016 | 108.1 |
| 2017 | 107.8 |
| 2018 | 106.4 |
| 2019 | 104.8 |
| 2020 | 103.2 |
| 2021 | 106.8 |
| 2022 | 103.2 |
| 2023 | 106.8 |
| 2024 | 105.4 |
Service-cost-led profile
How Anchorage's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Anchorage: the BEA services component is 111.8, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 105.4 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Corvallis, OR, Bend, OR, Salem, OR. They resemble Anchorage across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Anchorage's overall index has stayed within 1.0 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Anchorage vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
105 Top 7% higher than 93% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Anchorage cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
109.9 RPP
- Services
Services
111.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
105.4 RPP
- Goods
Goods
107.3 RPP
What this shows Anchorage's strongest departure is services at 111.8; rents follows at 109.9. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Anchorage's cost comes from
Metros near Anchorage's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Anchorage (Anchorage, this metro): goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 109.9
- Portland: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 125.1
- Bremerton: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 129.6
- Boulder: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 157
- Manchester: goods RPP 97.7, rents RPP 134.2
- Stockton: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 115.6
- Denver: goods RPP 101, rents RPP 146.9
Price Index Summary
Goods
107.3
Above avg
Services
111.8
Expensive
Rents
109.9
Above avg
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$105,420
in Anchorage, AK purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$52,710
$75,000 nationally
$79,065
$125,000 nationally
$131,775
$150,000 nationally
$158,130
$200,000 nationally
$210,840
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
18/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
18th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
AK-relative analysis
Goods prices places Anchorage, AK near the bottom of AK's metros
Among the 2 AK metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Anchorage, AK ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Anchorage, AK only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 2
0th percentile in AK
Services prices
#2 of 2
0th percentile in AK
Rent prices
#1 of 2
50th percentile in AK
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within AK only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Anchorage, AK: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (105.4 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (109.9 here).
Other AK Metros
View all AK metros → Cheapest in AK → Most expensive in AK →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Anchorage's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Corvallis, OR
Goods 105.3 · Services 108.6 · Rents 114.4 Bend, OR
Goods 105.3 · Services 105.0 · Rents 110.0 Salem, OR
Goods 105.3 · Services 104.7 · Rents 110.3 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
Goods 100.6 · Services 107.6 · Rents 105.5 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Goods 102.4 · Services 110.2 · Rents 118.2 Lexington Park, MD
Goods 99.7 · Services 106.4 · Rents 103.8
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Anchorage, AK's index of 105.4.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Anchorage
How to read Anchorage's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $94,859 in Anchorage. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 111.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Anchorage head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Anchorage, AK?
Anchorage, AK has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 105.4, meaning it is 5.4% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 107.3, services at 111.8, and rents at 109.9. It ranks #28 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Anchorage, AK to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $105,420 in Anchorage, AK. Conversely, $100K earned in Anchorage, AK has the purchasing power of $94,859 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Anchorage, AK?
Rents in Anchorage, AK are indexed at 109.9, which is 9.9% above the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Anchorage, AK getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Anchorage, AK's overall cost index changed by -1.0 points (from 106.5 to 105.4). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Anchorage, AK?
The priciest category in Anchorage, AK is services at 111.8, 11.8% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 107.3, 7.3% above average, still the lowest of the three categories.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Anchorage, AK?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, Boulder. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Anchorage, AK's 105.4.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.