San Jose, CA vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from San Jose to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
San Jose 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 San Jose, CA, you'd need about $94,438 in Anchorage, AK (−$5,562).
Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($1074 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Jose, CA | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,500 | $21,240 | −$22,260 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $5,224 | −$23 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,350 | −$1,775 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,952 | −$852 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,000 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $25,449 | $4,919 | −$20,530 |
| Total | $84,625 | $38,685 | −$45,940 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Jose, CA | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.1 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.50% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 26 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.43 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $1,610,466 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.6× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $1074 | $235 |
| Median rent | $3,625 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.90 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 5 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |