Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Alaska with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Alaska that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Alaska at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Homer.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Alaska reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Alaska
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Alaska
- Best Places To Retire In Alaska
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Alaska For 2024
/10
Population: 5,623
Median Home Price: $369,327
Population Change: 1.7%
Home Price Change: -3.9%
More on Homer: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 5,584
Median Home Price: $419,391
Population Change: -1.7%
Home Price Change: -10.2%
More on Kodiak: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 6,312
Median Home Price: $373,847
Population Change: 0.6%
Home Price Change: -2.0%
More on Bethel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 6,091
Median Home Price: $384,706
Population Change: 1.9%
Home Price Change: 3.1%
More on Palmer: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 7,477
Median Home Price: $304,984
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: -4.5%
More on Kenai: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 8,168
Median Home Price: $380,964
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: -2.9%
More on Ketchikan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 8,462
Median Home Price: $499,205
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: -15.7%
More on Sitka: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 9,267
Median Home Price: $363,621
Population Change: 1.9%
Home Price Change: 2.6%
More on Wasilla: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 32,496
Median Home Price: $281,546
Population Change: -1.6%
Home Price Change: -2.3%
More on Fairbanks: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 32,108
Median Home Price: $465,706
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: -0.7%
More on Juneau: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Alaska for 2024?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 9. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Alaska. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Alaska with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2018-2022 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Alaska with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Alaska, only 11 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 11 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Homer is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Last Frontier.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Alaska for 2024
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Alaska. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Alaska are Homer, Kodiak, Bethel, Palmer, Kenai, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wasilla, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Alaska reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Alaska
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homer | 5,623 | $369,327 | 1.7% | -3.9% |
| 2 | Kodiak | 5,584 | $419,391 | -1.7% | -10.2% |
| 3 | Bethel | 6,312 | $373,847 | 0.6% | -2.0% |
| 4 | Palmer | 6,091 | $384,706 | 1.9% | 3.1% |
| 5 | Kenai | 7,477 | $304,984 | 0.3% | -4.5% |
| 6 | Ketchikan | 8,168 | $380,964 | 0.2% | -2.9% |
| 7 | Sitka | 8,462 | $499,205 | -0.7% | -15.7% |
| 8 | Wasilla | 9,267 | $363,621 | 1.9% | 2.6% |
| 9 | Fairbanks | 32,496 | $281,546 | -1.6% | -2.3% |
| 10 | Juneau | 32,108 | $465,706 | -0.4% | -0.7% |
| 11 | Anchorage | 290,674 | $373,986 | -0.6% | 3.6% |