In Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, benefit checks make up only 8 cents of every dollar of income
In Aleutians East Borough, 8.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Aleutians East Borough's score
In Aleutians East Borough, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 50.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 22.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 57.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Aleutians East Borough: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Aleutians East Borough is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (35.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (20.5%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.5% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.8% · 202437th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance35.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$86,702 · 202413th percentile
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- 39.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 39.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.6% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th percentile
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- 22.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people57.8 · 202513th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Aleutians East Borough comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Aleutians East Borough, 13.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Aleutians East Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Aleutians East Borough had its largest rise, from 6.3% in 1993 to 8.6% in 1998.
In Aleutians East Borough, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1988, reaching 8.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than ten times as much as benefit checks
In Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1988 to 2024, reaching 8.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Aleutians East Borough getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 5.2% in 2010 to 9.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Aleutians East Borough getting SNAP food aid grew to about five times its 2009 level in 2024, reaching 14.5%
High on the chart: 14.6% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Aleutians East Borough, Alaska.
How Aleutians East Borough has changed
Aleutians East Borough's population nearly doubled to 3,632, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1988 to 1993, reaching 2,557. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Aleutians East Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Aleutians East Borough had its largest rise, from 1,824 in 2010 to 2,319 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Aleutians East Borough was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,319 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Aleutians East Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 0.4% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1993 9.7% | 2024 20.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $46,829 | 2024 $86,702 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Aleutians East Borough's history
1987
Incorporated October 23, 1987. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 3,420, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2000
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Aleutians East Borough. FEMA
Aleutians East Borough beside its neighbors
All one counties that border Aleutians East Borough score higher than it does.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK | 38 | 20.2% | 25.4% |
| Aleutians East Borough, AK | 25 | 20.5% | 8.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Aleutians East Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Aleutians East Borough's poverty rate was 20.5% in 2024, 6th highest of 30 in Alaska (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Kusilvak Census Area, at 34.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Aleutians East Borough ranks 19th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Aleutians East Borough
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Aleutians East Borough · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Aleutians East Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.