Alaska & Hawaii · Updated October 2026
Alaska in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,519/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
19.1%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
None
on wage income
One of 9 states with no wage income tax
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.06%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
103.8
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
63rd
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Alaska stands out: no state income tax on wages, the 8th lightest state and local tax bill and the 6th smallest rent-to-income bite among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the highest violent crime, the 8th highest natural-disaster risk and the 6th highest everyday costs.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.1% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 8th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Anchorage (Anchorage Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 25°F | 13°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 45°F | 29°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 65°F | 51°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 42°F | 31°F |
$1,529/mo two-bedroom · $1,169 one-bedroom (Anchorage, AK HUD Metro FMR Area)
Anchorage holds nearly half of Alaska's population, with mountains at the city limits and moose in the suburbs. Expect long dark winters, high grocery and fuel costs, an annual oil dividend, and genuine wilderness minutes from downtown.
$1,553/mo two-bedroom · $1,187 one-bedroom (Fairbanks-College, AK MSA)
Fairbanks is interior Alaska — extreme cold, dropping to −40°F, with brilliant aurora displays and near-endless summer daylight. A university and military town, isolated, expensive to heat, and not for the faint-hearted.
$1,807/mo two-bedroom · $1,381 one-bedroom (Juneau City and Borough, AK)
Juneau is the state capital, reachable only by boat or plane, wedged between mountains and a channel. Government jobs, cruise tourism, extraordinary rainfall, and a small-town social life with no road out.
$1,293/mo two-bedroom · $988 one-bedroom (Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK HUD Metro FMR Area)
Wasilla is a spread-out Mat-Su Valley town north of Anchorage, cheaper and more rural, with big-box retail along the highway and mountains behind it. A long commute to Anchorage jobs and a strong self-reliant streak.
$1,622/mo two-bedroom · $1,451 one-bedroom (Sitka City and Borough, AK)
Sitka is a small island town in the southeast rainforest with Russian and Tlingit heritage, dramatic scenery and a fishing-and-tourism economy. Extremely rainy, remote, and accessible only by ferry or plane.
$1,733/mo two-bedroom · $1,325 one-bedroom (Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK)
Ketchikan is a rainforest town on an island in the southern Panhandle, reachable only by boat or plane. Cruise tourism and fishing drive the economy, it is one of the wettest towns in the country, and groceries and housing cost a lot.
$1,390/mo two-bedroom · $1,063 one-bedroom (Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK)
Homer sits at the end of the road on the Kenai Peninsula, with a long spit into Kachemak Bay, halibut fishing and an arts community. Beautiful and remote, with a short summer season, few jobs and long dark winters.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
No. Alaska is one of nine states that don’t tax wage income. Sales and property taxes still apply: a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.1% of income in state and local income, property and sales tax (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,519 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,187, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $240 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 103.8 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 104.4 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 19.1% of the state’s median household income of $95,665.
Alaska recorded 724.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are earthquakes and severe winter storms. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alaska’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 63rd percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Wasilla and Sitka. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.