Alaska: Relatively Less Expensive Than It Used To Be

May 27, 2004
No. 04-55

JUNEAU – Alaska has a well-earned reputation as an expensive place in which to live, but a growing number of U.S. cities have become even more expensive.

A survey released in 1997 placed four Alaska cities, Kodiak, Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage, among the nation’s eight most expensive places to live.

Now the current version of the same survey ranks just two of those communities, Juneau and Kodiak, in the top 20 at 16th and 17th respectively.

The cost of living in Alaska is examined in the June 2004 issue of Alaska Economic Trends. Economists Neal Fried and Dan Robinson explore a variety of cost of living issues facing Alaska, from recent trends in inflation to the overall cost of living around the state and nation.

Among communities where housing costs were measured, Juneau tops the list and the Wrangell-Petersburg area and the Mat-Su Borough were the lowest.

When housing affordability was estimated by comparing the cost of housing and the average earning power of area residents, Fairbanks was the most affordable community. Bethel ranked the least affordable.

Mat-Su Valley residents working in Anchorage have a combination of housing costs and earnings matching Fairbanks in affordability, and that may help explain the daily flow of commuters between the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage.

An analysis of the cost of food for a family of four for a week shows that the Naknek-King Salmon area has the highest grocery costs in the state.

The complete cost of living analysis and additional survey data can be found on the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Research and Analysis Section website at http://almis.labor.state.ak.us

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News Media Contacts:
Dan Robinson, Labor Economist, DOLWD Research & Analysis Section, 907.465.6036 or
Joe Holbert, Special Assistant/Communications, 907.465.5673

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