About one in 11 people in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, has a disability
In Kodiak Island Borough, 8.9% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kodiak Island Borough's score
In Kodiak Island Borough, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 7.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 15.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kodiak Island 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, Kodiak Island Borough is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (29.1%, fiscal year 2027) and people without health insurance (12.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.0 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 rent11.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.1% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 28.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.8% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.2% · 20246th percentile
- People with a disability8.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance12.2% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$92,237 · 20249th percentile
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- 10.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.6% · second quarter of 20267th percentile
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- 7.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people15.9 · 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 Kodiak Island 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 Kodiak Island Borough, 13.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kodiak Island Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kodiak Island Borough, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 19.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 19.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kodiak Island Borough getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.9% in 2020 to 9.8% in 2021.
The share of households in Kodiak Island Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 5.8%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 5.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska.
How Kodiak Island Borough has changed
Kodiak Island Borough's population had its largest rise, from 9,432 in 1979 to 12,061 in 1984.
Kodiak Island Borough's population was at its highest on the chart in 1994 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 14,639 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Kodiak Island Borough had its largest drop, from 6,384 in 2015 to 5,584 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Kodiak Island Borough was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 6,384 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.1% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $41,872 | 2024 $92,237 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Kodiak Island Borough's history
1963
Incorporated September 24, 1963. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 13,913. The 2020 Census counted 13,101, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kodiak Island Borough, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kodiak Island Borough beside its neighbors
All two counties that border Kodiak Island Borough score higher than it does. Of the group, Kodiak Island Borough gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Lake and Peninsula Borough gets the largest, at 25.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK | 38 | 20.2% | 25.4% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 32 | 10.6% | 24.7% |
| Kodiak Island Borough, AK | 10 | 8.3% | 19.6% |
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 Kodiak Island Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Kodiak Island Borough's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 24th 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, Kodiak Island Borough ranks 27th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kodiak Island 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 Kodiak Island 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 Kodiak Island Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.