Seattle, WA vs Anchorage, AK
Moving from Seattle to Anchorage? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $422,103 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $94,713 in Anchorage, AK (−$5,287).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Anchorage, AK: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,132 sqft in Anchorage ($417 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Anchorage, AK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $21,240 | −$5,544 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $5,224 | −$182 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,350 | −$725 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,952 | +$1,404 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,000 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $4,919 | −$3,907 |
| Total | $48,138 | $38,685 | −$9,454 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Anchorage, AK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 106.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | -0.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $6.08 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $422,103 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $235 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,770 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 4.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 1.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 1.24% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $9,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 27.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $164 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $110 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 760 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 65 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 5 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 16.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 74.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 41% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |