Unemployment in Nome Census Area, Alaska, is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Nome Census Area, 9.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Nome Census Area's score
In Nome Census Area, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 93.0. Income and the safety net comes next, at 64.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Nome 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.
Nome Census Area does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.5%, August 2025) and people with a disability (11.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year9.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 64.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.4% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.6% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance14.0% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,885 · 202441st percentile
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- 59.1 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 rent13.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.1% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.3% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 21.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.9% · August 202537th 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 Nome 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 Nome Census Area, 8.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Nome Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Nome Census Area, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 31.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Nome Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Nome Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 33.0% in 2022 to 30.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Nome Census Area getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 29.4%
Low on the chart: 27.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Nome Census Area, Alaska.
How Nome Census Area has changed
Nome Census Area's population had its largest rise, from 6,608 in 1979 to 7,964 in 1984.
Nome Census Area's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 9,836
High on the chart: 10,128 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Nome Census Area, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Nome Census Area had its largest rise, from 2,825 in 1990 to 3,191 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Nome Census Area rose 37% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 3,902 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Nome Census Area, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 9.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.0% | 2024 22.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,449 | 2024 $69,885 |
The table uses 9.6% for 2025; the score uses 9.2% 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 Nome Census Area's history
1898
Gold discovered at Nome. Wikipedia
1905
Fires and violent storms destroyed most of Nome's Gold Rush era buildings. Wikipedia
1925
Diphtheria serum relay delivered to Nome during 1925 epidemic by dog sled. Wikipedia
1980
Established 1980. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 10,046, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Nome Census Area, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Nome Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Nome Census Area, one scores higher. Of the group, Nome Census Area gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Kusilvak Census Area gets the largest, at 51.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Arctic Borough, AK | 74 | 23.8% | 38.2% |
| 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 Nome Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Nome Census Area's poverty rate was 22.4% in 2024, 5th 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, Nome Census Area ranks 3rd of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Nome 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 Nome 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 Nome Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.