Unemployment in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 10.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area's score
In Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.3. About one in four people (24.5%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 64.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yukon-Koyukuk 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.
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.9%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (18.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.9% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.3% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability18.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- People without health insurance24.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,856 · 202486th percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year10.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.2% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
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- 48.5 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 rent6.9% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.2% · fiscal year 202790th percentile
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- 42.4 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 score57.6% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 35.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.7% · August 202566th 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 Yukon-Koyukuk 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Alaska
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1979, reaching 40.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1979 to 2024, reaching 40.2%; 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 24.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska.
How Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area has changed
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area's population had its largest drop, from 9,002 in 1989 to 6,646 in 1994.
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 44% since
High on the chart: 9,037 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska.
The number of jobs located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area had its largest drop, from 2,468 in 1990 to 1,936 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area fell 7% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 1995
Low on the chart: 1,936 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.6% | 2025 10.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.9% | 2024 19.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,368 | 2024 $52,856 |
The table uses 10.0% for 2025; the score uses 10.4% 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area's history
1847
Trading post Fort Yukon established by Hudson's Bay Company. Wikipedia
1897
Fort Yukon received prospectors during Klondike Gold Rush. Wikipedia
1949
Fort Yukon suffered infectious disease epidemics and 1949 flood. Wikipedia
1980
Established 1980. Wikipedia
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 8,478. The 2020 Census counted 5,343, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1986
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area ranks 2nd of the 10; Kusilvak Census Area is highest, at 51.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Arctic Borough, AK | 74 | 23.8% | 38.2% |
| Bethel Census Area, AK | 65 | 28.4% | 37.6% |
| 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% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK | 33 | 12.7% | 24.2% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 26 | 9.0% | 18.8% |
| North Slope Borough, AK | 26 | 14.8% | 9.7% |
| 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area the poorest county in Alaska?
No, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area's poverty rate was 19.9% in 2024, 8th 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, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area ranks 6th of 30 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yukon-Koyukuk 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 Yukon-Koyukuk 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.