State ranking · HUD FMR + Census ACS

Alaska: County Rent Burden

How much of household income goes to rent in each Alaska county, FY 2026.

22.4%
State avg 2BR burden
1
Counties over 30% (of 30)
0
Severely burdened (>50%)

What rent burden reveals about Alaska

Rent burden measures the share of household income going to rent. The federal standard, used by HUD and the Census Bureau, flags any household paying more than 30% of gross income on rent as "cost-burdened" and any household above 50% as "severely cost-burdened." This page calculates county-level burden by dividing HUD's FY 2026 Fair Market Rents, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom, by Census-reported median household income for each county in Alaska. Across the 30 counties with complete data, the weighted average 2-bedroom burden is 22.4%, compared with a national average of 21.7% - meaning Alaska sits 0.7 percentage points higher than the US benchmark.

The distribution matters more than the state average. In Alaska, 1 of 30 counties (3%) have a 2-bedroom burden above 30%, and 0 counties cross the severe-burden threshold of 50%. The most burdened county is Bethel Census Area at 32.9%, where the FY 2026 2-bedroom FMR of $1,938 eats that share of the local median income of $70,616. Because HUD's FMR sits at the 40th percentile of gross rents, this calculation understates the reality faced by renters paying market-rate: many higher-quality units in each county rent well above FMR, pushing actual burden rates even higher than the numbers shown below.

Burden data has direct policy stakes. High-burden counties see stronger demand for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (which cap tenant contribution at 30% of adjusted income and cover the gap up to FMR) and for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units, both of which rely on HUD's FMR as the foundational input. High burden also correlates with longer waitlists for public housing and greater housing instability, eviction filings, doubling up, and homelessness all rise in counties above the 50% threshold. Pair this page with the cheapest-counties ranking and year-over-year rent growth to see which Alaska counties are getting more affordable, which are tightening fastest, and where the burden gap between Alaska and the rest of the country is widening or narrowing.

State Avg Burden
22.4%
National Avg
21.7%
Counties > 30%
1
of 30
Severely Burdened
0
> 50% of income

All Counties by Rent Burden

# County 1 BR Rent 2 BR Rent 1 BR Burden 2 BR Burden
1 Bethel Census Area $1,719 $1,938 29.2% 32.9%
2 Kodiak Island Borough $1,581 $2,075 22.7% 29.7%
3 Northwest Arctic Borough $1,471 $1,930 21.7% 28.5%
4 Hoonah-Angoon Census Area $1,113 $1,460 21.4% 28%
5 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area $1,019 $1,126 23.2% 25.7%
6 Skagway Municipality $1,253 $1,644 19.1% 25.1%
7 Aleutians West Census Area $1,670 $2,191 18.7% 24.5%
8 Kusilvak Census Area $767 $973 19.1% 24.2%
9 Nome Census Area $1,334 $1,533 20.9% 24%
10 Fairbanks North Star Borough $1,277 $1,676 18.1% 23.7%
11 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area $1,030 $1,153 20.9% 23.4%
12 Aleutians East Borough $1,263 $1,385 20.8% 22.9%
13 Petersburg Borough $1,211 $1,463 18.9% 22.8%
14 North Slope Borough $1,239 $1,625 17.2% 22.6%
15 Wrangell City and Borough $928 $1,217 17.3% 22.6%
16 Ketchikan Gateway Borough $1,238 $1,625 16.7% 21.9%
17 Haines Borough $1,033 $1,321 17.1% 21.8%
18 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area $1,198 $1,313 19.4% 21.2%
19 Juneau City and Borough $1,340 $1,758 16% 21%
20 Yakutat City and Borough $1,094 $1,388 16.3% 20.7%
21 Chugach Census Area $1,374 $1,506 18.6% 20.4%
22 Kenai Peninsula Borough $1,000 $1,312 15.4% 20.3%
23 Dillingham Census Area $1,138 $1,247 18.4% 20.2%
24 Anchorage Municipality $1,243 $1,631 15.2% 19.9%
25 Lake and Peninsula Borough $894 $1,030 16.8% 19.3%
26 Sitka City and Borough $1,350 $1,566 16% 18.6%
27 Matanuska-Susitna Borough $1,049 $1,376 13.9% 18.2%
28 Copper River Census Area $930 $1,130 14.9% 18.1%
29 Denali Borough $935 $1,187 12.6% 16%
30 Bristol Bay Borough $1,134 $1,243 13.5% 14.8%
National burden rankings → All Alaska rents → Cheapest counties →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the rent burden in Alaska? ▼
The average 2-bedroom rent burden in Alaska is 22.4% of household income. 1 of 30 counties exceed the 30% affordability threshold.
Which counties in Alaska are most rent burdened? ▼
The most rent-burdened county is Bethel Census Area at 32.9% of income. No counties exceed the 50% severe burden threshold.
How does Alaska compare to the national average? ▼
Alaska's average rent burden is 22.4% vs the national average of 21.7%. That's 0.7 percentage points higher than average.

Data sources: HUD FY 2026 Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau median household income. Rent burden = (annual FMR ÷ median income) × 100.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.