Denver, CO vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Denver to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $100,948 in Anchorage, AK (+$948).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($302 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $21,240 | −$1,680 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $5,224 | +$145 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,350 | −$700 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,952 | +$1,164 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,000 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $4,919 | −$4,908 |
| Total | $46,464 | $38,685 | −$7,780 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |