$2,357 a month for housing

Anchorage is bracing for roughly 2,500 more active-duty service members headed to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, known as JBER, along with their families, according to figures presented to the Anchorage Assembly. Younger troops will live in dorms on base, but most family members will be competing for homes and apartments across the Anchorage rental market.

Housing allowances for those families range from $1,700 to about $4,100 a month depending on rank and family size, averaging around $2,350. The average Anchorage two-bedroom rental, with utilities, runs about $1,700 a month, meaning military housing dollars will often outbid what local renters typically pay.

Assembly members raised concerns during the briefing. One asked what happens if incoming families cannot find a place to live. Another said that much subsidized demand entering an already stressed market should concern the community.

City estimates show the new arrivals will need roughly 2,500 additional homes and apartments by 2030, ranging from two-bedroom units up to four-bedroom or larger homes.

The military could spend more than $2 billion on JBER next year alone, but the Department of Defense currently has no funding set aside to build housing off base. Meanwhile, the average Anchorage home already costs about $481,000, up 42 percent over the past ten years.