It’s interesting to be in Utah long enough to really notice the differences in price between Alaska and Southern Utah. And surprisingly, there isn’t as much difference as you might think.

First off, fuel – specifically for vehicles, not for heating. When I left Alaska the price for a gallon of gas was around $4.30ish depending on where you went. It’s gone up a bit to around $4.50 on average in my area. Here in Southern Utah it’s around $4.10 where I’m at but I’ve seen it up to $4.60 depending on the area. Diesel is a bit more with a bigger discrepancy at around $5.90 in Alaska and average about $5.60 here in Southern Utah.

Groceries would be the next big expense for most people.

Milk here is definitely cheaper at an average of $3.00/gallon whereas in Alaska it averages about $4.50/gallon if I remember correctly. I actually buy a less processed, more expensive milk because I think it’s better for my body. That milk runs me about $8.50/gallon. But we don’t drink a lot of milk. Egg prices are on average about $1 more expensive in Alaska.

A lot of the shelf stable items can be a bit less expensive, but it’s usually just penny’s less than Alaska. Costco is still cheaper here and in Alaska if you have a big enough list to make the gas worth while and Costco prices are usually the same everywhere across the country.

The thing that surprises me most is that the vegetables are about the same price, and they aren’t any better than what we get up in Alaska. As we approach summer and get closer to when fruit is harvested that might change but I won’t be here to see. When I have been here in the fall however, I have not been overly impressed. I think we all get our fresh fruits and veggies from the same places. That’s why I love my garden!

Utilities would be another big item. I don’t know what my parents utility bills are, but I know that I have a lot less of them than they do.

They have a better deal on heating as most places here have natural gas. Only the cities in Alaska have natural gas, where I’m at we have to use heating oil or an alternate source like wood or coal. We burn wood and coal throughout the winter. Natural gas is way cheaper than heating oil, but wood is somewhat free, except for the time to collect and stack during the summer. Coal has been cheaper for us than heating oil, and we like burning coal. But, I don’t know that it’s cheaper than natural gas.

The only other expenses we have where we live in Alaska are electricity, which is almost identical in price, and phone service, which again, with all the large phone companies, is the same price everywhere you go.

We don’t have a number of other expenses that most people here in Southern Utah have. They have extra utilities to pay for – water, sewer, and garbage removal. We have a well, a septic system, and we have to either burn our garbage or go to the dump. We do a combination of both. Non-burnable items are taken to the dump. Burnable items are used as part of the heat for our house as we burn them in our boiler. The dump usually costs me about $5/month on average throughout the year (we try not to produce a ton of garbage). That’s cheaper than my parents pay for garbage service. The average for water and sewer in Utah is $44, but can vary greatly depending on location, from $20-$120 per month.

I have also found that rent and mortgages costs in both places are very similar, with very similar types of housing available. In Alaska, rural housing is harder to find, and can be less desirable in standard of living, but not always. It’s also usually a bit more expensive.

I think the biggest expense in Alaska is travel. Here in Utah all the amenities like schools, stores, and restaurants are close by. If you chose, you could walk to all of those places, and I remember doing so regularly as a child. In Alaska, depending on where you live, the grocery store can be within 10 miles, or 50-60 miles away (or more). For me, it’s about 30 miles from my house. There is an elementary close to our home, but middle school and high school were a minimum of 20 miles away. My children chose an alternative type schooling and drove 50 miles everyday for school.

The biggest difference however isn’t in cost of living. The biggest difference, and the 2 things hardest for people to get used to in Alaska (and reasons most people leave), are the cold, and the dark. Summers are beautiful. Long days, lots of adventure. If you’re outdoorsy, summers in Alaska are better than most places in my opinion.

But winters can be hard. They are long, they are cold, and most of all, they are dark. This is what gets most people.

So, if you’ve ever wondered if your pocket book could handle Alaska, just know the cost of living isn’t as drastically different as you might have thought. But it does cost more as distances for travel are greater, and winter (cost of heating) lasts longer. But, if you’re up for an adventure, Alaska might just be the place to start.