Unemployment in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties
In Dillingham Census Area, 8.0% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dillingham Census Area's score
In Dillingham Census Area, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 94.5. Income and the safety net comes next, at 69.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dillingham 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.
Dillingham Census Area does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (43.4, 2025) and people with a disability (11.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.9% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 69.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.6% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line37.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance15.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,689 · 202453rd percentile
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- 47.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th 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 score48.5% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 45.0 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 rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 32.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.5% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43.4 · 20257th 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 Dillingham 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 Dillingham Census Area, 12.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dillingham Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dillingham Census Area, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1979, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1979 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dillingham Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.6% in 2012 to 21.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Dillingham Census Area getting SNAP food aid doubled from 2009 to 2023, reaching 30.0%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 30.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska.
How Dillingham Census Area has changed
Dillingham Census Area's population fell most sharply on the way to its 1994 low, from 5,789 in 1989 to 4,536 in 1994.
Dillingham Census Area's population was at its highest on the chart in 1989 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,789 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Dillingham Census Area had its largest drop, from 2,524 in 2015 to 2,082 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Dillingham Census Area was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,541 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 7.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.2% | 2024 23.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $36,084 | 2024 $65,689 |
The table uses 7.7% for 2025; the score uses 8.0% 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 Dillingham Census Area's history
1918
Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919 struck Bristol Bay, leaving no more than 500 survivors around Dillingham. Wikipedia
1980
Established in 1980. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 4,922. The 2020 Census counted 4,857, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dillingham Census Area, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dillingham Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the two counties that border Dillingham Census Area, one scores higher. Of the group, Dillingham Census Area gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bethel Census Area gets the largest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Census Area, AK | 65 | 28.4% | 37.6% |
| Dillingham Census Area, AK | 62 | 23.6% | 24.7% |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK | 38 | 20.2% | 25.4% |
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 Dillingham Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Dillingham Census Area's poverty rate was 23.6% in 2024, 4th 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, Dillingham Census Area ranks 4th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dillingham 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 Dillingham 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 Dillingham Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.