Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Anchorage might be more expensive than living in rural Alaska, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Anchorage neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Anchorage are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Anchorage for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Abbott Loop looks to be the cheapest Anchorage neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Anchorage. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Anchorage that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Anchorage.
For more Alaska reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Alaska
- Cheapest Places To Live In Alaska
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Anchorage For 2024
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Population: 24,649
Cost Of Living Index: 126 (17th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.9 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (12th cheapest)
More on Abbott Loop: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 12,502
Cost Of Living Index: 114 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.4 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (16th cheapest)
More on Russian Jack Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 6,100
Cost Of Living Index: 138 (28th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.6 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (7th cheapest)
More on Old Seward-Oceanview: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 29,207
Cost Of Living Index: 117 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (20th cheapest)
More on Northeast: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 9,225
Cost Of Living Index: 130 (24th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (11th cheapest)
More on Bayshore-Klatt: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 193
Cost Of Living Index: 114 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.9 (34th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (2nd cheapest)
More on Turnagain Arm: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 12,918
Cost Of Living Index: 122 (15th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.2 (12th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (15th cheapest)
More on Taku-Campbell: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 21,940
Cost Of Living Index: 129 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.3 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (9th cheapest)
More on Sand Lake: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 3,691
Cost Of Living Index: 116 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.3 (26th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (8th cheapest)
More on North Star: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 4,117
Cost Of Living Index: 129 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.1 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (13th cheapest)
More on Rogers Park: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Anchorage Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Anchorage, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 35 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Anchorage.” We’re lookin’ at you, Abbott Loop.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Anchorage. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Anchorage
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Anchorage where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Anchorage are Abbott Loop, Russian Jack Park, Old Seward-Oceanview, Northeast, Bayshore-Klatt, Turnagain Arm, Taku-Campbell, Sand Lake, North Star, and Rogers Park.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Anchorage aren’t all cheap. Basher takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Anchorage.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Anchorage are Basher, Chugiak, Eagle River Valley, Bear Valley, and Fairview.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Alaska reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In Alaska
- Richest Cities In Alaska
- Safest Places In Alaska
- Worst Places To Live In Alaska
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Anchorage For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abbott Loop | 126 |
| 2 | Russian Jack Park | 114 |
| 3 | Old Seward-Oceanview | 138 |
| 4 | Northeast | 117 |
| 5 | Bayshore-Klatt | 130 |
| 6 | Turnagain Arm | 114 |
| 7 | Taku-Campbell | 122 |
| 8 | Sand Lake | 129 |
| 9 | North Star | 116 |
| 10 | Rogers Park | 129 |
| 11 | Turnagain | 133 |
| 12 | Portage Valley | 117 |
| 13 | Spenard | 116 |
| 14 | Rabbit Creek | 153 |
| 15 | Girdwood | 122 |
| 16 | Huffman-O’malley | 138 |
| 17 | Scenic Foothills | 130 |
| 18 | Downtown | 107 |
| 19 | South Fork | 152 |
| 20 | Hillside East | 182 |
| 21 | South Addition | 144 |
| 22 | Tudor Area | 130 |
| 23 | Midtown | 104 |
| 24 | Government Hill | 105 |
| 25 | Mountain View | 104 |
| 26 | University Area | 119 |
| 27 | Airport Heights | 120 |
| 28 | Eagle River | 132 |
| 29 | Birchwood | 128 |
| 30 | Campbell Park | 122 |
| 31 | Fairview | 115 |
| 32 | Bear Valley | 159 |
| 33 | Eagle River Valley | 144 |
| 34 | Chugiak | 129 |
| 35 | Basher | 130 |