In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 15.8% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Matanuska-Susitna Borough's score
In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 74.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 19.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 43.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Matanuska-Susitna 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, Matanuska-Susitna Borough is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (11.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
-
- 35.7 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 rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
-
- 27.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.0% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$98,022 · 20246th percentile
-
- 24.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.2% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
-
- 19.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43.4 · 20257th percentile
-
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 Matanuska-Susitna 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 13.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 18.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Matanuska-Susitna Borough getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 2011 to 10.7% in 2012.
The share of households in Matanuska-Susitna Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 9.4%
Low on the chart: 9.4% 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, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
How Matanuska-Susitna Borough has changed
Matanuska-Susitna Borough's population had its largest rise, from 70,761 in 2004 to 86,885 in 2009.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough's population grew to more than ten times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 117,613, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 8,969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Matanuska-Susitna Borough had its largest rise in the last span, from 24,327 in 2020 to 29,978 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Matanuska-Susitna Borough grew to about four times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 29,978, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 24,327. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.2% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.4% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $32,356 | 2024 $98,022 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough's history
1935
New Deal resettlement brought 203 families from Iron Range of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin to Palmer. Wikipedia
1964
Incorporated January 1, 1964. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 107,081, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1986
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Matanuska-Susitna Borough beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Matanuska-Susitna Borough, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Matanuska-Susitna Borough ranks 7th of the nine; Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is highest, at 40.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Census Area, AK | 65 | 28.4% | 37.6% |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK | 58 | 19.9% | 40.2% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK | 33 | 12.7% | 24.2% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 32 | 10.6% | 24.7% |
| Copper River Census Area, AK | 30 | 13.2% | 23.0% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 19 | 8.7% | 17.8% |
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 13 | 7.9% | 16.3% |
| 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Matanuska-Susitna Borough's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 21st 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, Matanuska-Susitna Borough ranks 17th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Matanuska-Susitna 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.
-
Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC)
Legal aid
-
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 Matanuska-Susitna 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.