Alaska County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 30 counties in Alaska, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 40.4.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Alaska Snapshot
30 Counties Scored
40.4 Mean Score
39.5 Median Score
62.1 Northwest Arctic Borough Most Distressed
10.1 Denali Borough Least Distressed
1 moderate-high county distress6 moderate county distress7 moderate-low county distress12 low-moderate county distress3 low county distress1 very low county distress
Score Label Distribution Alaska County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 30 Alaska counties colored by county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 926 | Northwest Arctic Borough | 62.1 | moderate-high county distress | Labor |
| 2 | 1,107 | Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 58.8 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 3 | 1,167 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 57.8 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 4 | 1,176 | Bethel Census Area | 57.6 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 5 | 1,252 | Kusilvak Census Area | 56.0 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 6 | 1,277 | Dillingham Census Area | 55.7 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 7 | 1,544 | Nome Census Area | 50.9 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 8 | 1,624 | Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 49.3 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 9 | 1,844 | Aleutians East Borough | 45.6 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 10 | 1,847 | Aleutians West Census Area | 45.6 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 11 | 1,854 | Lake and Peninsula Borough | 45.5 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 12 | 2,018 | Copper River Census Area | 42.4 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 13 | 2,054 | Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 41.6 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 14 | 2,063 | Yakutat City and Borough | 41.5 | moderate-low county distress | Labor |
| 15 | 2,153 | Kenai Peninsula Borough | 39.8 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 16 | 2,183 | Haines Borough | 39.2 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 17 | 2,281 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 37.3 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 18 | 2,289 | Anchorage Municipality | 37.1 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 19 | 2,336 | Fairbanks North Star Borough | 36.2 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | 2,373 | Wrangell City and Borough | 35.5 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 21 | 2,376 | Bristol Bay Borough | 35.4 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 22 | 2,408 | Skagway Municipality | 34.7 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 23 | 2,489 | North Slope Borough | 33.0 | low-moderate county distress | Delinquency |
| 24 | 2,537 | Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 32.0 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 25 | 2,611 | Petersburg Borough | 30.3 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 26 | 2,613 | Chugach Census Area | 30.2 | low-moderate county distress | Labor |
| 27 | 2,771 | Kodiak Island Borough | 25.9 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 28 | 2,831 | Sitka City and Borough | 24.4 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 29 | 2,939 | Juneau City and Borough | 21.0 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 30 | 3,133 | Denali Borough | 10.1 | very low county distress | Delinquency |
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.
extreme county distress — 0 Alaska counties
very high county distress — 0 Alaska counties
high county distress — 0 Alaska counties
moderate-high county distress — 1 Alaska county
moderate county distress — 6 Alaska counties
moderate-low county distress — 7 Alaska counties
low-moderate county distress — 12 Alaska counties
low county distress — 3 Alaska counties
very low county distress — 1 Alaska county
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Alaska counties