About one in 10 people with a credit file in Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wrangell City and Borough, 10.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wrangell City and Borough's score
In Wrangell City and Borough, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 78.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wrangell City and 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, Wrangell City and Borough is worse off than most counties on unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (19.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,244 · 202435th percentile
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- 33.6 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 rent8.3% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 score24.4% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.2% · August 20255th or lower 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 Wrangell City and 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 Wrangell City and Borough, 27.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wrangell City and Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Wrangell City and Borough getting SNAP food aid fell by about half to 8.5%, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 11.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska.
How Wrangell City and Borough has changed
The number of jobs located in Wrangell City and Borough nearly doubled from 2008 to 2025, reaching 796, with most of the change between 2008 and 2013
High on the chart: 859 in 2013. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska.
The number of people living in Wrangell City and Borough fell 11% from 2009 to 2024.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 2009 2,331 | 2024 2,064 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 2010 8.2% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 2009 10.5% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 2009 $48,021 | 2024 $72,244 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 2009 27.0% | 2024 33.2% |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Wrangell City and Borough's history
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Since 2020
3 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wrangell City and Borough, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wrangell City and Borough beside its neighbors
Wrangell City and Borough scores higher than all two counties that border it. Of the group, Wrangell City and Borough gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (33.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrangell City and Borough, AK | 27 | 11.1% | 33.2% |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK | 20 | 8.2% | 20.0% |
| Petersburg Borough, AK | 14 | 9.1% | 24.8% |
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 Wrangell City and Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Wrangell City and Borough's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 17th 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, Wrangell City and Borough ranks 16th of 30 in the state.
Questions about Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska
What is the population of Wrangell City and Borough, Alaska?
2,064 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 2,127, 90% of the county's peak of 2,369 in 2010.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wrangell City and 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.
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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 Wrangell City and 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 Wrangell City and Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.