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A new state study on rental housing found that Anchorage has one of the tightest apartment markets in the state, based on vacancies, and one of the most affordable markets.
A report on the study, found in the state Department of Labor's Alaska Economic Trends issue for September, pegged the city's rental-unit vacancy rate at 4.5 percent earlier this year, compared with a statewide average of 7.1 percent. Only Kodiak Island Borough's rate of 3.2 percent was lower among the areas surveyed. Other vacancy rates included Mat-Su 6.6 percent, Kenai Peninsula Borough 7.6 percent, and and Fairbanks North Star Borough 12.7 percent. Alaska was ranked the 10th most expensive markets nationally. In Anchorage, a renter must have an annual income of $42,300, or about $20 an hour, to afford a median two-bedroom apartment. The study estimated the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Anchorage at $840 a month, not counting tenant-paid utilities. The median rent for two-bedroom apartments was $990 a month and the median for three-bedrooms was $1,198.