Best Places99508, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99508, 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.
99508 ranks 12,402nd 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 99508
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.
99508's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99508 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 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 99508 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99508
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99508 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,135, 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 99508's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99508
99508 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99508.
Who works in 99508, and how
Work in 99508 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 99508
99508 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 99508 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99508, month by month
99508 sees roughly 140 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 99508
The nearest airport, Merrill Field, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International, about 7 miles away.
The best schools in and around 99508
Schools across 99508 average a D+, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Orion Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Rogers Park ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Winterberry SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Romig Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Wendler Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Central Middle School Of ScienceD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- West High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Mclaughlin Secondary SchoolD+ · 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 99508 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99508 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 99508 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99508 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99508
Is 99508 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99508 ranks 12,402nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99508 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,178. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $83,135 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 99508 safe?
99508 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $800 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99508?
July highs average about 70 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 9. That works out to about 140 pleasant days a year, more than 86% of zip codes.
Is 99508 good for families?
Schools beat 10% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,590 a month.
Compare 99508 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99508. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99508 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.
99508 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99508: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99508: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99508: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99508: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99508 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.