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Why move to Anchorage?
There are some very diverse and unusual myths
circulating around the United States about Anchorage
and Alaska. Many of these myths come from films,
television and nature footage, and paint a picture
of dangerous, vast and uninhabitable wilderness.
Thousands of people annually chose to make
Anchorage their new home. Anchorage offers an ideal
place to live and work. The city has a strong and
diverse economic base, affordable living, excellent
recreational activities, a quality education system,
a great healthcare system, low taxes, and cultural
and ethnic diversity.
Demographics
Anchorage’s population has tripled since
statehood, from 83,000 in 1960 to nearly 260,000
today. Even though this decade Anchorage added less
residents than any other since 1950, its average
growth rate still exceeded most metropolitan areas
in the U.S.
Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and is
home to 42 percent of the state’s population. Most
people live in the city of Anchorage. However, in
the 1990s, 12 percent of municipality residents
lived in Chugiak-Eagle River. According to the
Municipal Department of Community Planning, faster
growth in the satellite communities of Chugiak-Eagle
River and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is due
partly to lower land costs, the appeal of a more
"rural" lifestyle, and highway
improvements that have made daily commuting faster
and safer.
Although the age of Anchorage’s population is
generally growing, Anchorage’s population is on
average six years younger than the national average,
hovering around 32.1 years old. The largest age
group represented in Anchorage is ages 30 to 49 at
36 percent. The smallest age group is seniors (65
plus).
Anchorage has traditionally been a community of
newcomers. According to data complied in 1998, only
28 percent of Anchorage residents were born in the
state, unlike the nation as a whole, where two
thirds of the people lived in the state of their
birth. But population mobility is slowing down.
Between the early 1980s and 1998, the percentage of
people who moved to or from Anchorage each year
declined from 25 to 13 percent.
Anchorage is also becoming more ethnically
diverse. Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for
about 27 percent of the total population in 1998,
more than the national metropolitan average. Alaska
Natives are the largest minority group, followed
closely by African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and
Pacific Islanders.
In addition, approximately nine percent of the
Anchorage population is comprised of members of the
military and their dependents. In 1997, there were
5,601 military retirees residing in Anchorage.
Cost
of Living
So how expensive is it to live in Anchorage? With
the national average represented by the number 100,
Anchorage earned the following ratings for the
fourth quarter of 1999 according to the American
Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA)
cost of living index.
- Grocery Items: 124.3
- Housing: 137.1
- Utilities: 87.6
- Transportation: 102.7
- Health Care: 162.8
What does that mean? If you went to the store and
bought a dozen eggs in Anchorage, they would cost
you $1.39; a half gallon of milk will cost you
$2.25, and bread will cost you about 99 cents. A
gallon of gas will run you about $1.59, a MacDonalds
quarter pounder with cheese will cost about $2.76,
and a pair of Levi’s 501s will cost around $35.
If you order a pizza in Anchorage, it will cost
you nearly $11. And then if you want to follow that
with a movie, you can expect to pay about $7.50 for
a first-run film.
For the best and most current statistics and
economic indicators, there is no better resource
than Anchorage Indicators, a publication of the
Municipality of Anchorage’s Community Planning
& Development Department. The cost is about $15
and can be ordered by calling 1-907-343-4309. The
web site for the Community Planning &
Development is www.ci.anchorage.ak.us.
Another excellent source for learning the makeup
of Anchorage and Alaska communities is the Alaska
Journal of Commerce’s "Book of
Lists."
If you are involved in a new business or are new
to the area and are trying to get a handle on the
local business scene, the "Book of Lists"
is an excellent source of statistics and information
and can be ordered by calling 1-907-561-4772.
Real Estate and Housing
Anchorage offers residents a large array of
housing options and favorable market rates. With the
backdrop of the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet in
the foreground, many Anchorage homes enjoy views
that would command premium prices in other markets.
Residents usually live within a 15-minute commute of
work.
According to the Community Planning &
Development Department, the total housing sales for
Anchorage in 1997 was $518 million. (Breakdown: $452
million in sales were homes, and $66 million were
condominiums.)
In 1997, the average sale price for a home in
Anchorage was $157,000, and the average selling time
for a home was 65 days. The average sale price for a
new home in 1997 was $188,429, and the average sale
price for an existing home was $158,053.
The average apartment rent for a one-bedroom is
$585 and a two-bedroom is $775. Houses with three to
four bedrooms and a garage rent for between $1,075
and $1,300 per month.
In the Anchorage bowl area in 1997, there were
81,461 housing units. Of these: 41,524 were
multi-family units, 34,275 were single-family units,
and 5,662 were mobile homes. (These figures exclude
the military bases.)
In addition, the apartment vacancy rate at
year-end 1998 was 4.3 percent. In 1996, it was 7.2
percent.
According to the Municipality of Anchorage, the
total dollar value of building permits issued in
1998 was $211 million. Of this value, $115 million
was for commercial and $96 million was for
residential.
The Permanent Fund
The Alaska Permanent Fund was created in 1976 by
a voter-approved amendment to the state
constitution. The fund was set up to automatically
receive 25 percent of state oil and gas royalties
and other natural resource revenues. The legislature
has control over appropriation of earnings, but the
principal could be invaded only by a referendum
voted on in a general election.
The permanent fund is worth more than $27 billion
and is invested globally in stocks, bonds, and real
estate. In fiscal year 1998, the fund had earned
$3.4 billion in income.
Like a savings account in the form of a public
trust, the permanent fund earnings are the source
for dividend payments. Every year, the fund
distributes a portion of these earnings to eligible
Alaska residents in the form of a dividend check. In
order to qualify for the dividend, a person must be
an Alaska resident for a minimum of one year and
meet all other eligibility requirements.
The amount of the dividend check varies from year
to year depending on the fund’s earnings and the
number of eligible applicants. Since everyone in
Alaska is an equal beneficiary, residents take a
keen interest in how the fund is managed. The amount
each qualified applicant received in 1997 was
$1,297, in 1998 was dividend was $1,541, and in 1999
the dividend increased to $1,769. The 2000 dividend
is $1963.86. For information about Alaska Permanent
Fund Dividend eligibility, call 269-0370 in
Anchorage.
Military
More than 22,000 active duty military, guardsmen,
reservists, Coast Guardsmen, Canadian military,
civil servants, and nearly 26,000 family members
reside at more than 30 locations across Alaska,
accounting for roughly 10 percent of the state’s
total population.
Approximately 9,800 military and civil service
employees and 12,750 family members are stationed at
Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base in
Anchorage. Department of Defense expenditures in
Alaska have an economic impact of more than $3
billion annually.
Alaska’s strategic location continues to be
vitally important to U.S. defense strategy. Military
installations here are equidistant from key
locations around the globe and are closer to Asia
and Europe than most bases in the contiguous United
States. Alaska’s location makes it an excellent
staging point for a wide array of military
operations including an active foreign
military-to-military contacts program.
Expansive air, land and sea training areas and
supportive communities make Alaska an ideal location
for conducting large-scale, multi-service, and
multi-national training. Many soldiers, sailors,
airmen and marines view Alaska as an excellent
assignment, drawn by the same features enjoyed by
most other Alaskans.
For more than a century, the people of Alaska and
the military have reaped the benefits of a uniquely
supportive sense of community and look forward to
continuing this positive and productive partnership
into the next century.
Churches and Religious Organizations
Anchorage is blessed with churches and religious
organizations of almost every faith and every
denomination. In 1990, Anchorage churches were 38
percent Evangelical, 21 percent Lutheran/Protestant,
17 percent Baptist, 8 percent Mormon, 5 percent
Catholic, and 10 percent Other. The local yellow
pages and the Anchorage Board of Realtors ‘Welcome
to Anchorage’ guide has a complete listing of
local churches and church groups.
Senior Services
Senior services in Anchorage have kept pace with
the increasing senior population. In 1998, the
senior population (age 65 and over) was 12,703. By
the year 2,008, it is expected that the senior
population will stand at 29,000.
The Anchorage Senior Center offers
referrals and assistance with federal and state
programs, housing, and other services. The center
has facilities and activities such as craft and
exercise classes, weekly dances, a game room, and a
nurse station that provides monitoring for certain
health conditions.
Another group offering assistance and information
is the Older Persons Action Group (OPAG). They are a
private, non-profit senior advocacy group, which
publishes a weekly newspaper, "The Senior
Voice." Services offered by OPAG include
job search assistance, training opportunities,
income tax assistance, financial planning, and
general advocacy for senior and inter-generational
issues. The National Association of Retired
Persons also has a chapter in Alaska.
There has been a recent surge of housing options
specifically designed for seniors including
Providence Horizon House, Providence Alaska Medical
Center’s assisted living complex, and the Mary
Conrad Center. The Anchorage Pioneers’ Home
is a 230-bed assisted living facility which offers
five levels of care: coordinated services, basic
assisted living, enhanced assisted living, dementia
care, and comprehensive services. Rent at the
Anchorage Pioneers’ Home is based on the level of
care needed for the resident.
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