Chugiak, AK

The affordability dashboard for Chugiak, AK aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 9,211 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B+ (77/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $147,319, median home value of $471,300, median rent of $1,220 per month, and 48.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,631 per month (studio $1,152, 1BR $1,243, 3BR $2,268, 4BR $2,736). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $18,819 per year, consuming 13% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Chugiak, AK include income, education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.4% and poverty 4.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.