In Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 52 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kusilvak Census Area's score
In Kusilvak Census Area, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 95.0. Unemployment averaged 18.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kusilvak 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.
Kusilvak Census Area does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.8%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (13.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year18.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working43.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 77.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line34.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line42.1% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,511 · 2024top 5%
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- 52.2 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 rent8.8% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.4% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 37.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.4% · August 202569th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 19.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025
- 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 scorenot published for this county; scored at the state median25th 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 Kusilvak 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 Kusilvak Census Area, 6.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kusilvak Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kusilvak Census Area, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 51.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kusilvak Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 59.2% in 2019 to 55.0% in 2020.
The share of households in Kusilvak Census Area getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 51.4%
Low on the chart: 50.9% 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, Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska.
How Kusilvak Census Area has changed
Kusilvak Census Area's population had its largest rise, from 5,128 in 1984 to 5,817 in 1989.
Kusilvak Census Area's population doubled from 1969 to 2019, reaching 8,399, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 8,399 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Kusilvak Census Area nearly doubled from 2015 to 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 2015 1,167 | 2025 2,032 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.1% | 2025 17.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 2015 31.8% | 2024 34.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 2015 $33,511 | 2024 $43,511 |
The table uses 17.4% for 2025; the score uses 18.2% 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 Kusilvak Census Area's history
1980
Established in 1980. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 8,368, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2020
2 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kusilvak Census Area, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kusilvak Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Kusilvak Census Area, two score higher. Of the group, Kusilvak Census Area gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (51.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Census Area, AK | 65 | 28.4% | 37.6% |
| Nome Census Area, AK | 63 | 22.4% | 31.0% |
| Kusilvak Census Area, AK | 59 | 34.9% | 51.5% |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK | 58 | 19.9% | 40.2% |
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 Kusilvak Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
Yes, Kusilvak Census Area's poverty rate was 34.9% in 2024, the highest of 30 counties in Alaska (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Kusilvak Census Area ranks 5th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kusilvak 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 Kusilvak 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 Kusilvak Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.