Cleveland, OH vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Cleveland to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($252,210 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Cleveland 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 Cleveland, OH, you'd need about $116,817 in Anchorage, AK (+$16,817).
Livability — Cleveland, OH: 71 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,270 sqft in Cleveland vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($153 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Cleveland, OH | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,532 | $21,240 | +$3,708 |
| Groceries | $4,830 | $5,224 | +$394 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,350 | +$325 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $2,952 | +$852 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,000 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $9,518 | $4,919 | −$4,599 |
| Total | $38,305 | $38,685 | +$380 |
Side by side
| Metric | Cleveland, OH | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.88% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.8% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $252,210 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.3% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $153 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,461 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.84% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 63.8 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 49% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |