State rental market analysis · AK
Alaska rental markets
11 tracked cities over 5,000 population, 11 ranked and summarized by their median Overall; 0 of 10 evaluable cities pass the modeled Buy & Hold screen. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. Compare state coverage and results →
Browse every Alaska ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the Pacific Census division (West region).
The honest read
Alaska has a median Overall of 38.8/100 across its ranked cities, but it is not assigned a headline state rank: 10 cities across 8 county contexts are evaluable for the Buy & Hold screen, below the published minimum of 20 cities and 10 county contexts. 11 ranked cities roll up into this grade. Its strongest factor is affordability (price-to-income): 4.3×, 20th of 51.
The biggest drag is population growth: -0.2%, 48th of 51. A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 11 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 5.4% | #36 of 51 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 3.9% | #35 of 51 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 3.1% | #40 of 51 |
| Population growth | Growth | -0.2% | #48 of 51 |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.3% | #39 of 51 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 4.3× | #20 of 51 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 4.1% | #29 of 51 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 39% renters · 7.3% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 4.0% | #48 of 51 |
Every city in Alaska, ranked
Led by Kenai at 58/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| AK rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenai | 58 | B | B | C | $331,313 | 5.7% | #932 |
| 2 med | Bethel | 57 | B | D | B | $360,200 | 5.6% | #1046 |
| 3 | Wasilla | 55 | C | B | B | $425,040 | 5.3% | #1311 |
| 4 | Palmer | 53 | C | B | C | $440,227 | 5.9% | #1463 |
| 5 med | Sitka | 44 | D | D | A | $486,534 | 3.6% | #2818 |
| 6 | Juneau | 39 | C | D | D | $476,877 | 6.3% | #3579 |
| 7 med | Homer | 38 | D | B | D | $432,181 | 3.8% | #3625 |
| 8 med | Ketchikan | 36 | D | D | D | $405,952 | 4.8% | #3895 |
| 9 | Fairbanks | 35 | B | D | D | $305,391 | 7.2% | #3950 |
| 10 | Anchorage | 30 | C | D | D | $422,785 | 5.1% | #4280 |
| 11 med | Kodiak | 29 | C | F | C | $449,880 | 5.4% | #4368 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in Alaska
245 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Alaska · 73 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Alaska city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), the same release the city table above uses; the geographies differ, so the same measure can still disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Alaska
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical AK state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Alaska city table and not directly comparable to it.
| AK rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 99654Tanaina | A 73#212 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #2 | 99645Knik River | A 68#893 nat | 4.3%Survey yield |
| #3 | 99780Mentasta Lake | B 67#1,123 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| #4 | 99623Point MacKenzie | A 66#1,386 nat | 5.9%Survey yield |
| #5 | 99669Kalifornsky | A 65#1,787 nat | 4.5%Survey yield |
| #6 | 99685Unalaska | B 64#2,143 nat | 5.4%Survey yield |
| #7 | 99611Nikiski | B 63#2,464 nat | 4.4%Survey yield |
| #8 | 99688Willow | B 62#2,721 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| #9 | 99612King Cove | B 60#3,466 nat | 11.1%Survey yield |
| #10 | 99603Fox River | B 60#3,629 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #11 | 99652Big Lake | B 57#5,013 nat | 4.5%Survey yield |
| #12 | 99633Naknek | B 56#5,364 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Alaska
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99741Galena | 99#17 nat | 13.4%Survey yield |
| 2 | 99671Stebbins | 98#38 nat | 11.9%Survey yield |
| 3 | 99612King Cove | 97#59 nat | 11.1%Survey yield |
| 4 | 99655Quinhagak | 97#59 nat | 11.1%Survey yield |
| 5 | 99628Manokotak | 96#82 nat | 10.6%Survey yield |
| 6 | 99621Kwethluk | 95#122 nat | 10.0%Survey yield |
| 7 | 99752Red Dog Mine | 86#671 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 8 | 99761Noatak | 84#836 nat | 7.6%Survey yield |
| 9 | 99750Kivalina | 83#911 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 10 | 99760Healy | 81#1,143 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |
| 11 | 99661Sand Point | 80#1,287 nat | 7.2%Survey yield |
| 12 | 99689Yakutat | 76#1,803 nat | 7.3%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Alaska
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99559Bethel | 78#462 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| 2 | 99755Denali Park | 76#803 nat | 2.4%Survey yield |
| 3 | 99741Galena | 74#1,009 nat | 13.4%Survey yield |
| 4 | 99557Lime Village | 74#1,042 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 5 | 99752Red Dog Mine | 74#1,042 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 6 | 99766Point Hope | 74#1,125 nat | 7.8%Survey yield |
| 7 | 99760Healy | 73#1,242 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |
| 8 | 99782Wainwright | 72#1,549 nat | 8.5%Survey yield |
| 9 | 99686Valdez | 71#1,738 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| 10 | 99685Unalaska | 71#1,780 nat | 5.4%Survey yield |
| 11 | 99684Unalakleet | 71#1,829 nat | 6.4%Survey yield |
| 12 | 99518Anchorage | 70#2,082 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |