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Title: Effects of Rising Utility Costs on Household Budgets, 2000-2006

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2007

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Abstract: Costs for utilities and fuels are high for Alaska households, particularly those in rural andremote places, and have increased significantly in recent years. The purpose of this studyis to quantify these costs and the effects of rising prices. The Public Use MicrodataSample from the 2000 U.S. census is used to analyze utility costs as a share of householdincome for each of four regions in Alaska, and a projection of these costs to 2006 is madebased on income and utility price panel data. We find that total costs for heat, electricityand water and sewer, as a median share of income, are nearly 50% higher now than in2000 for remote and rural places, compared to about 20% in Anchorage, the KenaiPeninsula and Matanuska-Susitna Boroughs, and about 30% in other large or road-systemcommunities. The lowest income quintile of households in remote communities pay amedian of about one third of their total income on these utilities, compared to thewealthiest quintile of households in Anchorage that pay only 2% of their total income onheat, electricity and water and sewer.

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Authors: Haley, Sharman; Saylor, Ben

Publisher: University of Alaska Anchorage

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Other

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