In Juneau City and Borough, Alaska, benefit checks make up only 15 cents of every dollar of income
In Juneau City and Borough, 14.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Juneau City and Borough's score
In Juneau City and Borough, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 42.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 3.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 0.7%, August 2025, lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Juneau City and 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.
Juneau City and 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.
- 42.0 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 rent15.6% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 17.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.8% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$105,304 · 20244th percentile
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- 13.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.0% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people47.5 · 20258th percentile
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- 3.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.9% · August 20252nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.7% · August 20251st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.4% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Juneau City and 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 Juneau City and Borough, 16.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Juneau City and Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Juneau City and Borough, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 347% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Juneau City and Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 14.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Juneau City and Borough getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 5.8% in 2010 to 7.0% in 2011; 8.2% in 2021 to 7.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Juneau City and Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.7% 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, Juneau City and Borough, Alaska.
How Juneau City and Borough has changed
Juneau City and Borough's population had its largest rise, from 19,866 in 1979 to 26,206 in 1984.
Juneau City and Borough's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31,572
High on the chart: 32,641 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Juneau City and Borough, Alaska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Juneau City and Borough rose by about a quarter to 17,756, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 17,756. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Juneau City and Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.6% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $40,991 | 2024 $105,304 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Juneau City and Borough's history
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 32,255, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2020
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Juneau City and Borough, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Juneau City and Borough beside its neighbors
All two counties that border Juneau City and Borough score higher than it does. Of the group, Juneau City and Borough gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Hoonah-Angoon Census Area gets the largest, 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% |
| 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 Juneau City and Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Juneau City and Borough's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 25th 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, Juneau City and Borough ranks 30th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Juneau City and 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 Juneau City and 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 Juneau City and Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.