Austin, TX vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Austin to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Anchorage 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 Austin, TX, you'd need about $108,644 in Anchorage, AK (+$8,644).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($204 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $21,240 | +$1,620 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,224 | +$577 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,350 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,952 | +$1,116 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,000 | −$2,600 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $4,919 | −$4,639 |
| Total | $42,936 | $38,685 | −$4,251 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.3 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.2 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |