Best Places99504, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99504, 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.
99504 ranks 5,917th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99504
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.
99504's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99504 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 99504 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99504
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99504 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,428, 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 99504's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99504
99504 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99504.
Who works in 99504, and how
Work in 99504 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 99504
99504 has more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 99504 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99504, month by month
99504 sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 48° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| October | 45° | 37° | 29° |
Flying in and out of 99504
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 9 miles away.
The best schools in and around 99504
Schools across 99504 average a D+, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- O'malley ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Girdwood SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Aurora ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Anchorage Stream AcademyB− · 43% proficient
- Wendler Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Nicholas J. Begich Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Highland Academy CharterC+ · 35% proficient
- Benson Secondary/s.e.a.r.c.h.D+ · 25% 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 99504 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99504 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 99504 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99504 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99504
Is 99504 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99504 ranks 5,917th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low taxes, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99504 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,433. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $92,428 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 99504 safe?
99504 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $511 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99504?
July highs average about 69 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 9. That works out to about 134 pleasant days a year, more than 83% of zip codes.
Is 99504 good for families?
Schools beat 10% of zip codes, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $1,590 a month.
Compare 99504 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99504. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99504 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.
99504 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99504: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99504: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99504: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99504: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99504 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.