The Cost of Living in Alaska

The biggest news for our living costs over the past year has been the continuing decline in energy prices. In Anchorage, which is the only place in the state where inflation is measured, energy prices fell by 10.3 percent in 2015, the single largest annual decline since 2009. Gasoline prices alone fell nearly 25 percent. Lower energy prices are heavily tied to other categories, particularly transportation, which fell by nearly 7 percent. Because transportation has such a large 'weight' in the index - which means it's a significant expenditure for most households - these changes have a powerful effect on the overall inflation rate.