Juneau’s cost of living rises; is now more expensive than Anchorage or Fairbanks | Juneau Empire

Juneau’s cost of living has risen in the past year, according to new figures from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

Each year, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development publishes a report on the cost to live in various communities across the state. As part of its report, the department uses figures from the council, which has been collecting data since 1961. In Juneau, the Juneau Economic Development Council surveys a series of bellweather prices and submits the data to the council (which is also known as C2ER).

According to the report from the first quarter of 2018, the difference between the national average and Juneau prices for groceries, housing, utilities and transportation all grew between 2017 and 2018.

Elsewhere in the state, the difference shrank, indicating prices closer to the national average.

Juneau is now more expensive than Fairbanks or Anchorage, according to the report, with a cost of living 34.5 percent greater than the national average. Fairbanks was 29.8 percent above the average; Anchorage was 28.4 percent above the average.

Utility prices in Fairbanks were more than twice the national average, but its grocery, housing and transportation prices are all below Juneau’s, contributing to a lower overall cost of living.

Juneau’s housing prices, more than 50 percent above the national average, are higher than those in Atlanta or Miami, but less than half that of San Francisco or Manhattan.

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• Contact reporter James Brooks at [email protected] or 523-2258.