Alaska County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 30 counties in Alaska, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 42.4. 5counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Alaska Snapshot
Alaska County Map
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All 30 Alaska counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Alaska's 30 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Alaska Counties
30 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 739 | Northwest Arctic Borough | 64.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 1,048 | Bethel Census Area | 59.5 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 1,132 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 58.2 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 1,150 | Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 57.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 1,183 | Kusilvak Census Area | 57.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 1,266 | Dillingham Census Area | 56.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 1,438 | Nome Census Area | 53.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 1,509 | Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 51.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 9 | 1,829 | Lake and Peninsula Borough | 46.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 2,011 | Kenai Peninsula Borough | 43.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 11 | 2,013 | Yakutat City and Borough | 42.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 12 | 2,053 | Anchorage Municipality | 42.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 2,125 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 40.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 2,137 | Copper River Census Area | 40.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 15 | 2,147 | Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 40.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 16 | 2,150 | Wrangell City and Borough | 40.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 2,152 | Fairbanks North Star Borough | 40.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 2,156 | Skagway Municipality | 40.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 2,163 | Petersburg Borough | 40.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | 2,169 | Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 40.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | 2,283 | Haines Borough | 37.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 22 | 2,441 | North Slope Borough | 34.5 | Second-least distressed fifth | Delinquency |
| 23 | 2,467 | Bristol Bay Borough | 33.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 24 | 2,469 | Aleutians East Borough | 33.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 25 | 2,530 | Kodiak Island Borough | 32.3 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 26 | 2,587 | Chugach Census Area | 31.2 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 27 | 2,605 | Aleutians West Census Area | 30.9 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 28 | 2,719 | Denali Borough | 28.0 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 29 | 2,725 | Sitka City and Borough | 27.9 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 30 | 2,793 | Juneau City and Borough | 25.9 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.