Best Places99503, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99503, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99503 ranks 9,067th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99503
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.
99503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99503 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 99503 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99503
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,159, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 99503's effective rate of 1.11%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99503
99503 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99503.
Who works in 99503, and how
Work in 99503 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 99503
99503 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. The coast is about 3 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 99503 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99503, month by month
99503 sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 70 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 9° |
| April | 48° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 70° | 61° | 54° |
| October | 46° | 38° | 29° |
Flying in and out of 99503
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 4 miles away.
The best schools in and around 99503
Schools across 99503 average a C−, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rogers Park ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Inlet View ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Turnagain ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Romig Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Wendler Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Central Middle School Of ScienceD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Steller Secondary SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- West High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Bettye Davis East Anchorage High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99503 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 99503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99503
Is 99503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99503 ranks 9,067th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and biking, and lowest on crime and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $344,312. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $80,159 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 99503 safe?
99503 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,385 per resident a year.
Compare 99503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99503 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.
99503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99503 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.