In Copper River Census Area, Alaska, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in five dollars of the typical household's income
In Copper River Census Area, 18.4% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Copper River Census Area's score
In Copper River Census Area, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 86.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.9. People with a credit card behind: 2.0%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Copper River 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, Copper River Census Area is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (8.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people without health insurance (13.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 62.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.2% · 202449th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.6% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability19.3% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance13.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,304 · 202428th percentile
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- 17.8 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 rent8.7% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th percentile
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- 16.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.1% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025
- People with a credit card behind2.0% · August 20255th or lower 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 scorenot published for this county; scored at the state median25th 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 Copper River 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 Copper River Census Area, 25.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Copper River Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Copper River Census Area getting SNAP food aid fell from 2020 to 2024, reaching 12.8%, with most of the change between 2020 and 2021
Low on the chart: 12.7% 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, Copper River Census Area, Alaska.
How Copper River Census Area has changed
The number of people living in Copper River Census Area held about level from 2020 to 2024.
The number of jobs located in Copper River Census Area rose 13% from 2020 to 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 2020 2,614 | 2024 2,631 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 2020 967 | 2025 1,091 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 2020 10.9% | 2025 7.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 2020 12.7% | 2024 13.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 2020 $61,215 | 2024 $75,304 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 2020 27.7% | 2024 23.0% |
The table uses 7.9% for 2025; the score uses 8.3% 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 Copper River Census Area's history
Copper River Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Copper River Census Area, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Copper River Census Area ranks 3rd of the five; Yakutat City and Borough is highest, at 24.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK | 33 | 12.7% | 24.2% |
| Yakutat City and Borough, AK | 32 | 15.2% | 24.4% |
| Copper River Census Area, AK | 30 | 13.2% | 23.0% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
| 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 Copper River Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Copper River Census Area's poverty rate was 13.2% in 2024, 13th 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, Copper River Census Area ranks 14th of 30 in the state.
Questions about Copper River Census Area, Alaska
What is the population of Copper River Census Area, Alaska?
2,631 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 2,617, the most of any census.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Copper River 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 Copper River 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 Copper River Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.