Best Places99502, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99502, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99502 ranks 2,324th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99502
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
99502's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99502 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$124,140 median, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 99502 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99502
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99502 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $124,140, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 99502's effective rate of 1.22%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99502
99502 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99502.
Who works in 99502, and how
Work in 99502 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 99502
99502 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 99502 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99502, month by month
99502 sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 47° | 38° | 28° |
| July | 69° | 61° | 54° |
| October | 45° | 38° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 99502
Ted Stevens Anchorage International sits about 2 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 71 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 99502
Schools across 99502 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kincaid ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Sand Lake ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Chinook ElementaryC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyview Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Mears Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Romig Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- River City AcademyB · 50% proficient
- Dimond High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- West High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99502 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99502 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 99502 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99502 suits
Families
Schools land around the 50th percentile and crime safety beats 66%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99502
Is 99502 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99502 ranks 2,324th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99502 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $429,084. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $124,140 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 99502 safe?
Yes, 99502 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $418 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99502?
July highs average about 69 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 11. That works out to about 139 pleasant days a year, more than 85% of zip codes.
Is 99502 good for families?
Schools beat 50% of zip codes, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,590 a month.
Compare 99502 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99502. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99502 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
99502 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99502: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99502: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99502: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99502: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99502 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.