Anchorage Municipality, AK

County Profile

288,976 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Anchorage Municipality, AK.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

60out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 5% of 1,255 counties measured84
Growth1064th of 1,226 counties measured29
Housing affordability703rd of 1,255 counties measured91
Climate1237th of 1,254 counties measured47
Physical resilience1107th of 1,255 counties measured26
AccessTop 49% of 1,255 counties measured82
Economic stabilityTop 16% of 1,255 counties measured85
The quick read

Anchorage Municipality ranks in the top 5% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.6% and median household income of $103,284.

282 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 14% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, avalanche and tsunami.

At a glance

Population
288,976
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$103,284
Top 4% nationally
Density
169/sq mi
1707.1 sq mi of land
Median age
35.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Anchorage Municipality
Alaska
Metro area
Anchorage, AK
Nearest major airport
ANC
24 mi · Ted Stevens Anchorage Intl
Median home value
$395,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6% is lower than 75% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 1.1% over the past year, to 145,413 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 96% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,702$103,284Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$870$51,144Top 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.9%Bottom 17%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.2 minBottom 16%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher38.7%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment145,413Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.7%Top 23%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.1%Top 14%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force150,858Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation69.8%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.4%Bottom 23%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate3.6%Bottom 25%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.72.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024103k89k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $103,284 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Anchorage, AK
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses4,990$115,290
Retail Salespersons4,710$37,520
Home Health and Personal Care Aides4,440$39,140
Stockers and Order Fillers4,070$40,310
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,600$33,280
General and Operations Managers3,290$120,030

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are 19.5 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
95
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
Reading proficiency
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
West High SchoolAnchorage School District1,70222.1
Bettye Davis East Anchorage High SchoolAnchorage School District1,63620.4
Service High SchoolAnchorage School District1,51824.5
Bartlett High SchoolAnchorage School District1,43121.7
Dimond High SchoolAnchorage School District1,37321.8
South Anchorage High SchoolAnchorage School District1,23922.9
Romig Middle SchoolAnchorage School District1,13821.1
Family Partnership Correspondence SchoolAnchorage School District1,00884.0
Chugiak High SchoolAnchorage School District92823.2
Nicholas J. Begich Middle SchoolAnchorage School District83021.8
Hanshew Middle SchoolAnchorage School District82234.3
Gruening Middle SchoolAnchorage School District79728.5

49.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Alaska’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,489 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,489
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$395,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.83Top 23%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate63.9%Bottom 13%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±946120,348Top 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$38$1,489Top 8%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,191$395,900Top 9%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.3%Top 46%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.8%Bottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
29/ 100
Ranks 1064 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 289,600 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
282
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 14% nationally
Year over year
−14%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
26.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024291k288k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420251k215
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−71%).

Weather & climate

3 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 68°F and January a low of 8°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 24, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ANCHORAGE MERRILL FLD, 19.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index55.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation14.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low8°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high68°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months31991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index24.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
24
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, avalanche and tsunami.

EarthquakeHigh
AvalancheModerate
TsunamiModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, winter weather, volcanic activity, wildfire, lightning, coastal flooding, cold wave, ice storm, hail, tornado, inland flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Anchorage Municipality records 8.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 23.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 60.8 per 100,000 residents in Anchorage Municipality.

Homicide
8.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
23.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
60.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
24.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Anchorage Municipality as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Anchorage Municipality rather than Anchorage Municipality itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 24 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Ted Stevens Anchorage IntlANC24 mi10,865 ft
Fairbanks IntlFAI256 mi11,800 ft
King SalmonAKN308 mi8,901 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
60
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

Cities in Anchorage Municipality, AK