Elevation of Anchorage
104ft
above sea level · 32 m
Anchorage is a city in Alaska with 287,155 people, the most populous in the state. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 29th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 61.22° N · 149.90° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 61° 13′ 5″ N · 149° 54′ 1″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 6V · 344,248 E · 6,790,532 N
- Zone 6 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Alaska Time
- UTC−9 · UTC−8 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 287,155 people
- 1,707 sq mi of land · 168 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 5 m grid
- Data from November 2010: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Anchorage had 287,155 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.4% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 291,242. Its 1,707 sq mi of land work out to 168 people/sq mi; the state average is 1.3 people/sq mi.
It’s the most populous of the 355 places the Census counts in Alaska (cities, towns and CDPs), and holds 39% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Anchorage Municipality. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 21 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other big cities
Anchorage sits at 104 ft (32 m) above sea level. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, the highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft). The average is 858 ft: Anchorage is 754 ft below it.
The state capital, Juneau, is 573 mi away in a straight line and 70 ft lower than Anchorage.
The highest point in Alaska is Denali, at 20,310 ft according to the USGS: 20,206 ft above Anchorage, 133 mi away in a straight line.
- 63 Anchorage 104 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Anchorage.
What is the elevation of Anchorage?
Anchorage is 104 feet (32 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Anchorage?
Latitude 61.21806 and longitude -149.90028, in decimal degrees (61° 13′ 5″ N · 149° 54′ 1″ W). In UTM, zone 6: 344,248 E and 6,790,532 N, on NAD83.
How does Anchorage rank among the highest big cities?
It’s the 29th lowest of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people. The highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft).
What county is Anchorage in?
Anchorage Municipality, Alaska.
Which is higher, Anchorage or Juneau?
Anchorage. Anchorage sits at 104 ft and Juneau at 34 ft: a difference of 70 ft, 573 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know