Best PlacesNorth Star, Anchorage, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Star, Anchorage, 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.
North Star, Anchorage ranks 1,859th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Star, Anchorage
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.
North Star, Anchorage's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Star, Anchorage ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.3 minutes each way, better than 95% of neighborhoods
Where North Star, Anchorage ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Star, Anchorage
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Star, Anchorage home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,349, 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 North Star, Anchorage's effective rate of 1.26%, 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 North Star, Anchorage
North Star, Anchorage 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 North Star, Anchorage.
Who works in North Star, Anchorage, and how
Work in North Star, Anchorage centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in North Star, Anchorage
North Star, Anchorage has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of North Star, Anchorage and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Star, Anchorage, month by month
North Star, Anchorage sees roughly 144 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 North Star, Anchorage
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 North Star, Anchorage
Schools across North Star, Anchorage average a D+, better than 22% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Rogers Park ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- Inlet View ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- North Star ElementaryD− · 13% 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 North Star, Anchorage school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Star, Anchorage 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 North Star, Anchorage against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Star, Anchorage
Is North Star, Anchorage a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Star, Anchorage ranks 1,859th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on cell coverage and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Star, Anchorage expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $336,385. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $100,349 median income, cost of living beats 67% of neighborhoods.
Is North Star, Anchorage safe?
North Star, Anchorage is safer than 12% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,243 per resident a year.
Compare North Star, Anchorage with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Star, Anchorage. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Star, Anchorage 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.
North Star, Anchorage detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Star, Anchorage: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Star, Anchorage: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Star, Anchorage: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Star, Anchorage: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Star, Anchorage 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.