Best Places99515, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99515, 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.
99515 ranks 1,166th 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 99515
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.
99515's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99515 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 94% of zip codes
- Household income$122,906 median, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 99515 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99515
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99515 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $122,906, 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 99515's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 99515
99515 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 99515.
Who works in 99515, and how
Work in 99515 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 99515
99515 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 99515 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99515, month by month
99515 sees roughly 143 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 99515
Ted Stevens Anchorage International sits about 5 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 99515
Schools across 99515 average a B−, better than 62% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bayshore ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Rabbit Creek ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Ocean View ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Goldenview Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Skyview Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Mears Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- River City AcademyB · 50% proficient
- South Anchorage High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Service High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99515 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99515 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 99515 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99515 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99515
Is 99515 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99515 ranks 1,166th 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 99515 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $407,959. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $122,906 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 99515 safe?
Yes, 99515 is safer than 77% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $381 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99515?
July highs average about 69 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 11. That works out to about 143 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of zip codes.
Is 99515 good for families?
Schools beat 62% of zip codes, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $1,590 a month.
Compare 99515 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99515. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99515 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.
99515 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99515: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99515: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99515: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99515: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99515 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.