About one in six people with a credit file in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, 17.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 74% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's score
In Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 88.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 15.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Southeast Fairbanks 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.
Even so, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (6.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people without health insurance (14.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.1% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 44.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance14.8% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,754 · 202419th percentile
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- 28.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.2% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 23.4 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 rent7.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202739th percentile
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- 15.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.0% · August 202526th 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 Southeast Fairbanks 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 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area had its largest rise, from 9.3% in 1984 to 15.2% in 1989.
In Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1979, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1979 to 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.4% in 2017 to 8.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 8.6%
Low on the chart: 7.0% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska.
How Southeast Fairbanks Census Area has changed
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's population rose by about a third to 7,313, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 6,981. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area more than doubled to 3,093, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 2,381. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.8% | 2025 6.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.7% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,224 | 2024 $80,754 |
The table uses 6.9% for 2025; the score uses 6.7% 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 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's history
1904
Telegraph station established at Big Delta. Wikipedia
1928
Bison herd brought from Montana for game hunting. Wikipedia
1980
Established 1980. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 7,029. The 2020 Census counted 6,808, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ranks 3rd of the six; Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is highest, at 40.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK | 58 | 19.9% | 40.2% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK | 33 | 12.7% | 24.2% |
| Copper River Census Area, AK | 30 | 13.2% | 23.0% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 18 | 7.1% | 19.0% |
| 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 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 14th 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, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ranks 11th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Southeast Fairbanks 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 Southeast Fairbanks 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 Southeast Fairbanks Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.