census area
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population, usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population is 18,666, up from 17,013 in 2010. It is part of the
unorganized borough
The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level o ...
and therefore has no
borough seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...
. Its largest community is the city of
Bethel
Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Bet ...
, which is also the largest city in the unorganized borough.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the census area has an area of , of which is land and (10.8%) is water. Its territory includes the large
Nunivak Island
Nunivak Island ( Central Alaskan Yup'ik: ; Nunivak Cup'ig: ''Nuniwar''; ) is a permafrost-covered volcanic island lying about offshore from the delta of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in the US state of Alaska, at a latitude of about 60°N. The ...
in the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...
.
Its land area is comparable to that of Kentucky, which has an area of slightly under forty thousand square miles.
Adjacent boroughs and census areas
*
Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska
Kusilvak Census Area, formerly known as Wade Hampton Census Area, is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,368, up from 7,459 in 2010. It is part of the Unorganized Borough and therefo ...
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 censu ...
- east
*
Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the ce ...
- southeast
*
Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska
Lake and Peninsula Borough (, ''Leyk-end-Peninsula'') is a borough in the state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,476, down from 1,631 in 2010. The borough seat of King Salmon is located in neighboring Bristol Bay Borou ...
- south
*
Dillingham Census Area, Alaska
Dillingham Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,857, slightly up from 4,847 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. It ...
- south
National protected areas
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Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of wh ...
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a List of national parks of the United States, United States national park and National preserve, preserve in southwest Alaska, about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. The park was first proclai ...
(part)
**
Lake Clark Wilderness
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve in southwest Alaska, about southwest of Anchorage. The park was first proclaimed a national monument in 1978, then established as a national park and preserve ...
(part)
*
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge is in the Dillingham and Bethel Census Areas, Alaska. It is dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south. The natural forces that have shaped this land range from ...
(part)
**
Togiak Wilderness
Togiak () is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 817, up from 809 in 2000.
History
Togiak is the successor village of two earlier Inuit villages, Togiagamute (Togiagamiut) & Togiak Stat ...
(part)
*
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge covering about in southwestern Alaska. It is the second-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, only slightly smaller than the Arctic National Wildlif ...
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 16,006 people, 4,226 households, and 3,173 families living in the census area. The population density was . There were 5,188 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the census area was 12.53% White, 0.38% Black or African American, 81.93% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 4,226 households, 51.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.20% were married couples living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 19.90% of households were one person, and 2.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.73 and the average family size was 4.41.
In the census area the population was spread out, with 39.80% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 16.40% from 45 to 64, and 5.20% 65 or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.80 males.
Bethel Census Area is one of only 38 county-level census divisions of the United States where the most spoken language is not English and one of only 4 where it is neither English nor Spanish. 63.14% of the population speak a
Yupik language
The Yupik languages () are a family of languages spoken by the Yupik peoples of western and south-central Alaska and Chukotka. The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that they are not mutually intelligible, although speakers of one ...
at home, followed by English at 34.71%.
Politics
Like most counties or equivalents with a Native American majority, Bethel tends to support Democratic presidential candidates. However, Republican Senator
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Alaska, having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman ...
, who has fared well with Alaska Native voters, carried the census area overwhelmingly in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Bethel
Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Bet ...
Chuathbaluk
Chuathbaluk () is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States.
At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 102, down from 118 in 2010.
Geography
Chuathbaluk is located at (61.575693, -1 ...
Goodnews Bay
Goodnews Bay () is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 243, up from 230 in 2000.
Geography
Goodnews Bay is located on the north shore of Goodnews Bay at the mouth of the Go ...
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Kwethluk
Kwethluk ( ; ) is a city in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 census the population was 721, up from 713 in 2000. It is the birthplace of Saint Olga of Alaska.
Geography
Kwethluk is located at (60.802332, -161.418 ...
Mekoryuk
Mekoryuk ( Nunivak Cup'ig: ''Mikuryarmiut''; Central Yup'ik: ''Mikuryar'') is a city located on Nunivak Island in the Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 191, down from 210 in 2000.
History
Nunivak ...
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
Toksook Bay
Toksook Bay is a city and village on Nelson Island in Bethel Census Area, Alaska. The population was 590 at the 2010 census, up from 532 in 2000. As of 2018, the estimated population was 667, making it the largest village on the island.
Toks ...
Kipnuk
Kipnuk () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 639, down from 644 in 2000.
Kipnuk consists mostly of Yup'ik speaking Native Alaskans; the name means a "bend" refer ...
Mertarvik Mertarvik (; ) is a village in the Bethel Census Area, Alaska. In 2019 the first residents from the town of Newtok, which is eroding, began to arrive.
By 2020, about 130 residents were there. In 2020, the State of Alaska had not sent voting prim ...
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Newtok
Newtok () is a small village on the Ningliq River in the Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population is zero as of late 2024, down from 321 in 2000, and the village has been abandoned. Climate change and river erosion forced the ...
Sleetmute
Sleetmute (; Deg Xinag: ''Tovisq'oł'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 86, down from 100 in 2000.
Geography and climate
Sleetmute is located on the east ba ...
Crow Village
Crow Village is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Kuskokwim River in the U.S. state of Alaska. There are an estimated six residents.
Geography
Crow Village is located in the Bethel Census Area on the north bank of the Kus ...
Napaimute
Napaimute () is an unincorporated Alaska Native village located in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is classified as an Alaskan Native Village Statistical Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it has a population of 2. This ...
Iditarod Area School District
Iditarod Area School District (IASD) is a school district headquartered in McGrath, Alaska, United States.
Schools
All are K-12 schools:
* Blackwell School - Anvik
* David Louis Memorial School - Grayling
* Holy Cross School
* McGrath Sch ...
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Kuspuk School District
Kuspuk School District is a school district headquartered in Aniak, Alaska.
In 2024 the enrollment count was 318. The district's area is similar in size to that of Maryland. See also at KTOO
History
On July 1, 2020, James Anderson began his ter ...
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Lower Kuskokwim School District
Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD), or Bethel Public Schools, is a school district headquartered in Bethel, Alaska. it is the largest rural school district in the state, with 4,300 students.
Employment and teacher demographics
In 2017 it ...
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Lower Yukon School District
Lower Yukon School District is a school district headquartered in Mountain Village, Alaska, serving the Kusilvak Census Area. As of the 2017-18 school year, it has 1,998 students across 10 schools. 91% are American Indian or Alaska Native and 5 ...
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Yupiit School District
The Yupiit School District serves students in the Akiachak, Akiak, and Tuluksak communities in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska.List of Airports in the Bethel Census Area
* Nunathloogagamiutbingoi Dunes