About one in 10 people with a credit file in Chugach Census Area, Alaska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector

In Chugach Census Area, 9.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
26th
of 30 counties in Alaska
13score /100

Less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.

What drives Chugach Census Area's score

In Chugach Census Area, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chugach 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.

Even so, Chugach Census Area is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people without health insurance (11.4%, 2020 to 2024).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Jobs

    Biggest factor
    66.2 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      6.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      94th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      18.8% · 2020 to 2024
      38th percentile

  • Housing costs

    27.9 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      12.2% · 2020 to 2024
      19th percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      19.4% · fiscal year 2027
      36th percentile

  • Income and safety net

    27.3 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      7.9% · 2024
      7th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      8.4% · 2024
      7th percentile
    • People with a disability
      14.9% · 2020 to 2024
      39th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      11.4% · 2020 to 2024
      75th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $97,265 · 2024
      6th percentile

  • Late payments

    11.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025

    • People with a credit card behind
      0.0% · August 2025
      5th or lower percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      0.0% · August 2025
      5th or lower percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      not published for this county; scored at the state median
      25th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    5.0 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      9.7% · August 2025
      5th or lower percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      not published for this county; scored at the state median · 2025
      5th or lower percentile

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 Chugach 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 Chugach Census Area, 13.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Chugach Census Area

68 16 16

Alaska

63 18 20

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

The share of households in Chugach Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 1.4% in 2020 to 7.3% in 2021.

The share of households in Chugach Census Area getting SNAP food aid grew to about seven times its 2020 level in 2024, reaching 9.8%, with no dip in any year shown

Smallest rise: 2022 to 2023, reaching 8.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chugach Census Area, Alaska.

0%5%10% 1.4%9.8% 20202021202220232024 0%5%10% 1.4%9.8% 20202021202220232024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates · American Default
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Data (CSV)
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How Chugach Census Area has changed

The number of people living in Chugach Census Area fell 7% from 2020 to 2024.

The number of jobs located in Chugach Census Area rose 10% from 2020 to 2025.

MeasureThenNowSource
People living in the countyBEA 2020 7,082 2024 6,604 BEA
Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW 2020 3,299 2025 3,615 BLS QCEW
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 2020 7.7% 2025 5.9% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 2020 7.0% 2024 7.9% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 2020 $84,063 2024 $97,265 Census SAIPE
Share of income from benefit checksBEA 2020 17.1% 2024 16.3% BEA

The table uses 5.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.2% 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 Chugach Census Area's history

  1. 1989

    Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill near Valdez in 1989. Wikipedia

  2. 2019

    On January 2, 2019, it was split from the Valdez–Cordova Census Area. Wikipedia

Chugach Census Area beside its neighbors

All five counties that border Chugach Census Area score higher than it does. Of the group, Chugach Census Area gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Kenai Peninsula Borough gets the largest, at 24.7%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Yakutat City and Borough, AK 32 12th of 30 15.2% 24.4%
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 32 13th of 30 10.6% 24.7%
Copper River Census Area, AK 30 14th of 30 13.2% 23.0%
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 26 17th of 30 9.0% 18.8%
Anchorage Municipality, AK 19 23rd of 30 8.7% 17.8%
Chugach Census Area, AK 13 26th of 30 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 Chugach Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?

No, Chugach Census Area's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 27th 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, Chugach Census Area ranks 26th of 30 in the state.

Questions about Chugach Census Area, Alaska

What is the population of Chugach Census Area, Alaska?

6,604 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 7,102, the most of any census.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Chugach 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.

Alaska foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Chugach Census Area · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Chugach Census Area, Alaska, scores 13 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 86% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/alaska/chugach-census-area-ak/

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 Chugach Census Area comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.