PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Anchorage, AK

34.3
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#373
of 387 metros
4%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Anchorage ranks #373 of 387 US metros, ahead of 4% - carried by its wages (92/100) and held back most by safety (0/100).

92
strongest: Wages
91
then: Schools
0
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Anchorage sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

34 4th percentile higher than 4% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Anchorage Life Score

Anchorage's composite score of 34.3 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #373 of 387, ahead of 4% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (92/100) and Schools (91/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (0/100) and Environment (3/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 105.4 (rent-RPP 109.9). BLS median salary $79,131, 169,010 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,631/mo (studio $1,152).

FBI UCR (AK): 728 violent, 1741 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,925/yr. EPA: 9 Superfund sites (AK). Ranks #370-#376 below.

Dimension detail

How Anchorage scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 7/100 (20%)
Wages 92/100 (20%)
Rent 24/100 (15%)
Safety 0/100 (15%)
Schools 91/100 (10%)
Childcare 14/100 (10%)
Environment 3/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

105.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$79,131
Avg Median Salary
$1,631
2BR Fair Market Rent
728
Violent Crime/100K (AK)
15.2:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,925
Infant Childcare/yr (AK)
9
Superfund Sites (AK)
169,010
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Anchorage With...

Anchorage vs Fairbanks Compare → Anchorage vs Wildwood Compare → Anchorage vs Waterloo Compare → Anchorage vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Anchorage outranks 4% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#370 Flagstaff, AZ 34.5 D
#371 Colorado Springs, CO 34.8 D
#372 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 35.1 D
#373 Anchorage, AK 34.3 D
#374 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 34.1 D
#375 Helena, MT 34.0 D
#376 Ithaca, NY 33.9 F

AK Metro Scores

Fairbanks-College, AK D 36.4

Using Anchorage's Life Score

Anchorage is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (92/100) and its weakest is safety (0/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Anchorage head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Anchorage lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Anchorage's biggest strengths? ▼
Anchorage's strongest dimensions are Wages (92/100), Schools (91/100), Rent (24/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Anchorage's weakest areas? ▼
Anchorage's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (0/100), Environment (3/100), Cost of Living (7/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Anchorage compared to the national average? ▼
Anchorage's Regional Price Parity is 105.4 (5.4% more than national); rent RPP 109.9.
What is the average salary in Anchorage? ▼
Anchorage median salary: $79,131, 169,010 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Anchorage's 34.3/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.