About one in 16 people in Skagway Municipality, Alaska, lives below the poverty line
In Skagway Municipality, 6.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Skagway Municipality's score
In Skagway Municipality, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.0. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.9. About one in four people (23.9%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Skagway Municipality: 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, Skagway Municipality is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (10.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (20.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year10.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.6% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 39.8 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 rent12.2% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 32.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.2% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line2.4% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability20.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$89,234 · 202411th percentile
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- 18.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- 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 score23.9% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Skagway Municipality 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 Skagway Municipality, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Skagway Municipality
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Skagway Municipality had its largest rise, from 8.2% in 2013 to 13.0% in 2018.
In Skagway Municipality, pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 2008
In Skagway Municipality, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a quarter from 2008 to 2024, reaching 13.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Skagway Municipality getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 2.7%
Low on the chart: 0.0% 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, Skagway Municipality, Alaska.
How Skagway Municipality has changed
Skagway Municipality's population had its largest rise, from 1,048 in 2013 to 1,229 in 2018.
Skagway Municipality's population was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 1,229 in 2018. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Skagway Municipality, Alaska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Skagway Municipality more than doubled to 949, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2007 and 2012
Biggest rise: 2007 to 2012, reaching 755. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Skagway Municipality, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 2010 14.8% | 2025 6.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 2008 3.5% | 2024 6.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 2008 $61,029 | 2024 $89,234 |
The table uses 6.7% for 2025; the score uses 10.6% 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 Skagway Municipality's history
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Since 2020
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Skagway Municipality, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Skagway Municipality beside its neighbors
All one counties that border Skagway Municipality score higher than it does.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haines Borough, AK | 34 | 10.1% | 23.2% |
| Skagway Municipality, AK | 21 | 6.2% | 13.6% |
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 Skagway Municipality the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Skagway Municipality's poverty rate was 6.2% in 2024, the lowest 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, Skagway Municipality ranks 20th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Skagway Municipality
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 Skagway Municipality · 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 Skagway Municipality comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.