In Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska, benefit checks make up only 10 cents of every dollar of income
In Bristol Bay Borough, 10.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bristol Bay Borough's score
In Bristol Bay Borough, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 92.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. About one in 17 renters (5.9%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bristol Bay 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, Bristol Bay Borough is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (36.5%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (20.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 46.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.7% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance20.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$99,684 · 20245th percentile
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- 23.4 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 score36.8% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 18.6 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 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent5.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.3% · fiscal year 20275th 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 Bristol Bay 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 Bristol Bay Borough, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bristol Bay Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bristol Bay Borough had its largest rise, from 8.1% in 1994 to 14.8% in 1999.
In Bristol Bay Borough, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 10.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 10.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Bristol Bay Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska.
How Bristol Bay Borough has changed
Bristol Bay Borough's population had its largest drop, from 1,571 in 1989 to 1,236 in 1994.
Bristol Bay Borough's population was at its highest on the chart in 1989 and is down 44% since
High on the chart: 1,571 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Bristol Bay Borough had its largest drop, from 1,347 in 2010 to 1,033 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Bristol Bay Borough was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 1,347 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.0% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,480 | 2024 $99,684 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.8% 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 Bristol Bay Borough's history
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 1,258. The 2020 Census counted 844, 67% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bristol Bay Borough. FEMA
Bristol Bay Borough beside its neighbors
All one counties that border Bristol Bay Borough score higher than it does.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK | 38 | 20.2% | 25.4% |
| Bristol Bay Borough, AK | 27 | 11.4% | 10.1% |
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 Bristol Bay Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Bristol Bay Borough's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 16th 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, Bristol Bay Borough ranks 15th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bristol Bay 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 Bristol Bay 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 Bristol Bay Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.