Alaska rent increases were the smallest in five years, but Mat-Su and Kenai set records

Alaska renters faced another increase this year, though the statewide rise was the smallest in five years. The median two-bedroom rent went up 2.6 percent across surveyed areas, according to the spring rental survey the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development published Tuesday.

Where the increase landed shifted. Rent rose about 13 percent in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and about 11 percent in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, records in both. Anchorage and Fairbanks rose about 2 percent each and Juneau about 3 percent, their smallest increases in years.

Median rents including utilities ran from $1,288 a month in the Wrangell-Petersburg area to $2,030 in Bethel. Anchorage was $1,720, Fairbanks $1,710 and Juneau $1,708. Bethel's rent fell about 2 percent, which the report attributes to a change in which units were surveyed rather than to falling rents.

Vacancy held steady. The median March rate, excluding Bethel, was 5.4 percent, the fourth straight year within a percentage point of 5 percent. Fairbanks was highest at 10.1 percent, down from 13.5 percent last year, and Wrangell-Petersburg lowest at 1.1 percent.

For comparison, the department reported rents rose an average of 5 percent across surveyed areas in 2025, with an average March vacancy rate of 6.1 percent.