The ACCRA Cost of Living Index for the first quarter 2008 revealed that Anchorage's cost of living ranks near those of other West Coast cities. Anchorage ranked 126.6 overall (the national average ranking is 100), a .4 percent increase from the same time last year. Other cities scoring similarly include Seattle, WA with 121.5 and Portland, OR with 119.9. The most expensive city in the U.S. is New York, NY at 218.8 and the least expensive city in the U.S. is Mason City, IA at 86.2.

The ACCRA Cost of Living Index - published quarterly by The Council for Community and Economic Research - measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 50,000 prices covering almost 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations or university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. More information about the report is available at www.coli.org.