About one in 14 people in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, lives below the poverty line
In Fairbanks North Star Borough, 7.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Fairbanks North Star Borough's score
In Fairbanks North Star Borough, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 50.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.8. People with a credit card behind: 2.9%, August 2025, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Fairbanks North Star 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.
Fairbanks North Star Borough isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 50.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.4% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 48.2 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
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- 23.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.1% · 20244th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.4% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$92,086 · 20249th percentile
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- 22.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.1% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people25.3 · 20251st percentile
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- 14.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.9% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.9% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.5% · second quarter of 202620th 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 Fairbanks North Star 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough, 12.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Fairbanks North Star Borough, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about eight times its 1969 level, reaching 19.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about eight times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 19.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Fairbanks North Star Borough getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 6.4% in 2014 to 7.4% in 2015; 6.7% in 2019 to 5.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Fairbanks North Star Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 6.8%
Low on the chart: 4.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.
How Fairbanks North Star Borough has changed
Fairbanks North Star Borough's population had its largest rise, from 54,910 in 1979 to 68,300 in 1984.
Fairbanks North Star Borough's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 94,951
High on the chart: 99,234 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Fairbanks North Star Borough had its largest rise, from 32,119 in 2000 to 36,476 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Fairbanks North Star Borough rose 39% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 37,132 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 7.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $33,602 | 2024 $92,086 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Fairbanks North Star Borough's history
1901
Fairbanks Gold Rush began with gold discovery near trading post, boom followed by decline by World War I. Wikipedia
1964
Incorporated January 1, 1964. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 97,581. The 2020 Census counted 95,655, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Fairbanks North Star Borough, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Fairbanks North Star Borough beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Fairbanks North Star Borough, two score higher. Of the group, Fairbanks North Star Borough gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area gets the largest, at 40.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK | 58 | 19.9% | 40.2% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK | 33 | 12.7% | 24.2% |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 18 | 7.1% | 19.0% |
| Denali Borough, AK | 4 | 7.6% | 27.3% |
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 Fairbanks North Star Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Fairbanks North Star Borough's poverty rate was 7.1% in 2024, 29th 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, Fairbanks North Star Borough ranks 24th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Fairbanks North Star 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 Fairbanks North Star 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.