About one in nine people with a credit file in Haines Borough, Alaska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Haines Borough, 11.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Haines Borough's score
In Haines Borough, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 75.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Haines 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, Haines Borough is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (9.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent25.3% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd percentile
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- 64.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year9.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 47.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.1% · 202423rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,305 · 202437th percentile
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- 12.9 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 score19.1% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 5.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.0% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 20255th 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 Haines 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 Haines Borough, 21.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Haines Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Haines Borough had its largest rise, from 8.9% in 1989 to 14.7% in 1994.
In Haines Borough, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1979, reaching 23.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Haines Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1979 to 2024, reaching 23.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Haines Borough getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.5% in 2009 to 4.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Haines Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 4.7%
Low on the chart: 2.4% 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, Haines Borough, Alaska.
How Haines Borough has changed
Haines Borough's population rose most sharply from its first year (1,684 in 1979) to 2,076 in 1984.
Haines Borough's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 2,486 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Haines Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Haines Borough had its largest rise in the last span, from 763 in 2020 to 1,055 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Haines Borough fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 763 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Haines Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 9.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.3% | 2024 10.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $40,078 | 2024 $71,305 |
The table uses 9.0% for 2025; the score uses 9.3% 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 Haines Borough's history
1968
Founded August 29, 1968. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 2,508. The 2020 Census counted 2,080, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2020
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Haines Borough, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Haines Borough beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Haines Borough, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Haines Borough ranks 2nd of the four; Hoonah-Angoon Census Area is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK | 53 | 16.8% | 25.9% |
| Haines Borough, AK | 34 | 10.1% | 23.2% |
| Skagway Municipality, AK | 21 | 6.2% | 13.6% |
| Juneau City and Borough, AK | 4 | 8.2% | 14.6% |
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 Haines Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Haines Borough's poverty rate was 10.1% in 2024, 19th 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, Haines Borough ranks 10th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Haines 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 Haines 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 Haines Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.