Anchorage, AK vs Houston, TX
Moving from Anchorage to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($422,103 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Anchorage vs Houston at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Anchorage, AK, you'd need about $93,409 in Houston, TX (−$6,591).
Livability — Anchorage, AK: 49 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,132 sqft in Anchorage vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($235 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Anchorage, AK | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,240 | $19,668 | −$1,572 |
| Groceries | $5,224 | $5,085 | −$139 |
| Transportation | $3,350 | $3,675 | +$325 |
| Utilities | $2,952 | $1,836 | −$1,116 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $3,600 | +$2,600 |
| Taxes | $4,919 | $7,399 | +$2,480 |
| Total | $38,685 | $41,263 | +$2,578 |
Side by side
| Metric | Anchorage, AK | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.8 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.62% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.0% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.08 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $422,103 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.7% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $235 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,770 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 4.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 1.82% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.24% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $9,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $800 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 27.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.90 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $164 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $110 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 760 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 65 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 5 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 16.6 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 74.0 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 41% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |