About one in 12 people in Anchorage Municipality, Alaska, lives below the poverty line
In Anchorage Municipality, 8.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Anchorage Municipality's score
In Anchorage Municipality, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 39.1. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 23.4. The typical household earns $103,780 a year (2024), more than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Anchorage Municipality: 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.
Anchorage Municipality isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 39.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.7% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.7% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 35.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.1% · second quarter of 202626th percentile
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- 35.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 26.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people42.3 · 20256th percentile
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- 23.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance9.9% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$103,780 · 20244th 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 Anchorage Municipality 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 Anchorage Municipality, 12.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Anchorage Municipality
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Anchorage Municipality, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about eight times its 1969 level, reaching 17.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Anchorage Municipality, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about eight times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 17.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Anchorage Municipality getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 6.4% in 2009 to 7.1% in 2010; 7.7% in 2011 to 8.4% in 2012.
The share of households in Anchorage Municipality getting SNAP food aid rose by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.7%
High on the chart: 8.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Anchorage Municipality, Alaska.
How Anchorage Municipality has changed
Anchorage Municipality's population had its largest rise, from 178,825 in 1979 to 220,254 in 1984.
Anchorage Municipality's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 289,600
High on the chart: 302,141 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Anchorage Municipality, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Anchorage Municipality fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 153,811 in 2015 to 135,969 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Anchorage Municipality rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 148,620
High on the chart: 153,811 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Anchorage Municipality, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $40,761 | 2024 $103,780 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Anchorage Municipality's history
1914
The city grew from its happenstance choice as a site for railroad construction to begin in 1914. Wikipedia
1920
November 23, 1920 (city) January 1, 1964 (borough) September 15, 1975 (unified municipality). Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 291,826. The 2020 Census counted 291,247, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1995
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Anchorage Municipality, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Anchorage Municipality beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Anchorage Municipality, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Anchorage Municipality ranks 3rd of the four; Kenai Peninsula Borough is highest, at 24.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 32 | 10.6% | 24.7% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 19 | 8.7% | 17.8% |
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 13 | 7.9% | 16.3% |
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 Anchorage Municipality the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Anchorage Municipality's poverty rate was 8.7% in 2024, 22nd 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, Anchorage Municipality ranks 23rd of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Anchorage Municipality
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 Anchorage Municipality · 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 Anchorage Municipality comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.