Unemployment in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Bethel Census Area, 10.9% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bethel Census Area's score
In Bethel Census Area, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Income and the safety net comes next, at 71.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bethel Census Area: 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.
Bethel Census Area does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.5%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (11, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year10.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 71.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line37.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,237 · 202472nd percentile
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- 52.7 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 rent9.1% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income39.9% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 40.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score62.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 38.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people11 · 20255th or lower 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 Bethel Census Area 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 Bethel Census Area, 8.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bethel Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bethel Census Area had its largest rise in the last span, from 31.6% in 2019 to 37.6% in 2024.
In Bethel Census Area, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1979, reaching 37.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Bethel Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1979 to 2024, reaching 37.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bethel Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 27.8% in 2009 to 32.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Bethel Census Area getting SNAP food aid rose by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 42.4%
High on the chart: 43.0% 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, Bethel Census Area, Alaska.
How Bethel Census Area has changed
Bethel Census Area's population had its largest rise, from 16,860 in 2009 to 18,036 in 2014.
Bethel Census Area's population rose by more than half from 1979 to 2024, reaching 18,237
High on the chart: 18,659 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bethel Census Area, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Bethel Census Area rose most sharply from its first year (4,529 in 1990) to 5,397 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Bethel Census Area was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 6,962 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bethel Census Area, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 12.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 44.0% | 2024 28.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,163 | 2024 $59,237 |
The table uses 12.0% for 2025; the score uses 10.9% 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 Bethel Census Area's history
1885
Moravian Church established mission in Bethel area in 1885. Wikipedia
1980
Established in 1980. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,666, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bethel Census Area, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bethel Census Area beside its neighbors
Bethel Census Area scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bethel Census Area ranks 3rd of the seven; Kusilvak Census Area is highest, at 51.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Census Area, AK | 65 | 28.4% | 37.6% |
| Dillingham Census Area, AK | 62 | 23.6% | 24.7% |
| Kusilvak Census Area, AK | 59 | 34.9% | 51.5% |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK | 58 | 19.9% | 40.2% |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK | 38 | 20.2% | 25.4% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 32 | 10.6% | 24.7% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
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 Bethel Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Bethel Census Area's poverty rate was 28.4% in 2024, 2nd 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, Bethel Census Area ranks 2nd of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bethel Census Area
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 Bethel Census Area · 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 Bethel Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.