What is the cost of living in Fairbanks-College?

Fairbanks-College has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 103.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 92.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,676/month.

What is the median salary in Fairbanks-College?

The median salary in Fairbanks-College is $73,725 annually (mean: $76,337). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Fairbanks-College?

The violent crime rate in the Fairbanks-College area is 728 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1741 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Fairbanks-College?

The state of AK has 496 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.2:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Fairbanks-College?

Infant center-based childcare in the Fairbanks-College area averages $15,925 per year. Preschool averages $13,479/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Fairbanks-College a good place to relocate?

Fairbanks-College has a Life Score of 43.5/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Fairbanks-College sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Fairbanks-College ranks #352 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Fairbanks-College, AK

LiveAbility 35.4/100 places Fairbanks-College #352 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

103.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,676
2BR rent / mo: $73,725
Median salary: 35.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Fairbanks-College ranks #352 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (35.4/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#352
of 387 US metros · Below median: 740,133
metro-area population: 728
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 496
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (0/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Fairbanks-College ranks #352 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 103.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,676/mo, median salary $73,725; LiveAbility Score 35.4/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 35.4/100 places Fairbanks-College #352 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 103.2 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,676/mo.

LiveAbility 35.4/100 puts Fairbanks-College in the bottom third (#352 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Fairbanks-College area is 28,710.

Fairbanks-College vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

35 Top 91% higher than 9% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Fairbanks-College housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Fairbanks-College MSA; housing RPP 92.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,676/mo.

Studio

$1,156

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,277

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,676

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,331

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,812

/month

Fairbanks-College wages and employment

Fairbanks-College posts 28,710 total employment with median salary $73,725 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$73,725

Mean Salary

$76,337

Total Employment

28,710

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$37,550
Stockers and Order Fillers	$40,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$30,170
Cashiers	$37,340
General and Operations Managers	$114,990

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Fairbanks-College area from NCES.

Schools

496

Enrollment

130,718

Student:Teacher

15.2:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Fairbanks-College area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$15,925

per year

Toddler (Center)

$14,453

per year

Preschool (Center)

$13,479

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Fairbanks-College's composite Life Score is 43.5/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

11/100

Bottom decile

Wages

87/100

Elite

Rent

22/100

Weak

Crime

0/100

Bottom decile

Schools

91/100

Elite

Childcare

14/100

Bottom decile

Environment

100/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Fairbanks-College ranks #352 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 35.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (97/100)

Low hazard

97
Job market

87
Air quality

62
Housing

22
Cost of living

11
Schools

9
Climate

1
Safety

0

What this shows Fairbanks-College's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 0/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Fairbanks-College to

Pittsfield Pocatello Port St. Lucie Portland-South Portland Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Prescott Valley-Prescott

Metros near Fairbanks-College on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Fairbanks-College on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Fairbanks-College cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Fairbanks-College wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Fairbanks-College?

Fairbanks-College runs a $73,725 median salary at a 103.2 cost index, ranking #352 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Fairbanks-College's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Fairbanks-College head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Fairbanks-College
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.