Alaskans used to pay the highest rent in the nation, but new state data show that cost has stabilized.
Rent was about 50% higher than the national average in 1980 in Alaska and average household income in the state was also the nation’s highest, according to a report in Alaska Economic Trends magazine.
But since then, Alaska’s median monthly rent cost hasn’t grown as fast as other states.
That’s partially because while Alaska was leading in rent costs in the 80’s, a drop in oil prices put the state’s economy in recession, said state economist Rob Kreiger who co-authored the study.
“You had a huge influx of people coming related to the oil boom. In the years that followed, a large number of people who left the state, left a lot of that housing inventory in place,” he said.
That recession slowed rent increases, according to the report, because many people left the state, making housing more affordable and available. After the recession, several years of negative migration (more people leaving the state than moving in) continued to hinder rent growth.
Although slower rent growth was a key takeaway from the report, there are some exceptions.
For almost a decade starting in 2005, the cost of median rent in Alaska grew 42%, according to the report, which was faster than the national average and many states.
Kreiger said more people moved into the state during that period, which drove the demand for housing.
“Some of that activity that we saw was probably the result of things happening down south,” Kreiger said. “Things were looking better up here.”
Alaska is now at the middle of the pack for rent prices. Median monthly rent in the state, including utilities, was almost $1,400 a month in 2023, the report said, which is about $30 cheaper than the national average.
