About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, have a job
In Yakutat City and Borough, 14.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yakutat City and Borough's score
In Yakutat City and Borough, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 59.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 18.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yakutat 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, Yakutat City and Borough is worse off than most counties on children below the poverty line (33.8%, 2024) and people without health insurance (24.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.2% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance24.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,870 · 202427th percentile
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- 53.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 44.2 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 rent4.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.9% · fiscal year 202783rd percentile
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- 22.8 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 score36.4% · second quarter of 202634th 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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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 Yakutat 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 Yakutat City and Borough, 26.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yakutat City and Borough
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yakutat City and Borough, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1993, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1993 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; 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 Yakutat City and Borough getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 5.3%
Low on the chart: 3.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska.
How Yakutat City and Borough has changed
Yakutat City and Borough's population had its largest drop, from 849 in 1998 to 673 in 2003.
Yakutat City and Borough's population was at its highest on the chart in 1998 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 849 in 1998. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Yakutat City and Borough had its largest rise, from 290 in 1993 to 416 in 1998.
The number of jobs located in Yakutat City and Borough was at its highest on the chart in 1998 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 416 in 1998. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1994 13.3% | 2025 5.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1993 7.5% | 2024 15.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $52,663 | 2024 $75,870 |
The table uses 5.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Yakutat City and Borough's history
1795
Russian fort built at Yakutat by Shelikhov-Golikov Company. Wikipedia
1886
Black sand beaches at Yakutat mined for gold. Wikipedia
1903
Stimson Lumber Company cannery operated at Yakutat then closed. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 808. The 2020 Census counted 662, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2020
2 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yakutat City and Borough. FEMA
Yakutat City and Borough beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Yakutat City and Borough, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yakutat City and Borough ranks 2nd of the four; Hoonah-Angoon Census Area is highest, at 25.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK | 53 | 16.8% | 25.9% |
| Yakutat City and Borough, AK | 32 | 15.2% | 24.4% |
| Copper River Census Area, AK | 30 | 13.2% | 23.0% |
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 13 | 7.9% | 16.3% |
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 Yakutat City and Borough the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Yakutat City and Borough's poverty rate was 15.2% in 2024, 11th 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, Yakutat City and Borough ranks 12th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yakutat 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 Yakutat 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 Yakutat City and Borough comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.