Moving from Fairbanks to Anchorage
Fairbanks to Anchorage: $215 more leftover
$2,764/mo leftover in Anchorage vs $2,549 in Fairbanks after tax and rent ($215 more). +$2,580 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Fairbanks leftover
$2,549
a month after tax and rent
Anchorage leftover
$2,764
+$215 vs Fairbanks
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
In 2022-2023, 415 households moved Fairbanks → Anchorage (about 694 people, average AGI $72,296). 241 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Fairbanks | Anchorage |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $6,239 | $6,448 |
| Rent | $1,378 | $1,392 |
| All other costs | $2,312 | $2,292 |
| Left over | $2,549 | $2,764 |
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Fairbanks and Anchorage moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 235 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,800–$3,350
- Container or pod
- $1,200–$2,250
- Rent a truck
- $500–$900
Dig into Anchorage
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Anchorage than Fairbanks?
A one-bedroom is about $1,378 in Fairbanks versus $1,392 in Anchorage. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $215 a month higher in Anchorage. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Anchorage have state income tax?
Anchorage is in Alaska, which has no state income tax.
Did people actually move from Fairbanks to Anchorage?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Fairbanks → Anchorage move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.