Bethel Census Area is a census area 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 ...

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 and therefore has no borough seat. 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 - northwest * Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska - north * Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska - east * Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska - southeast * Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska - south * Dillingham Census Area, Alaska - south

National protected areas

* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (part of the Bering Sea unit) ** Bering Sea Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (part) ** Lake Clark Wilderness (part) * Togiak National Wildlife Refuge (part) ** Togiak Wilderness (part) * Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (part) ** Nunivak Wilderness

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

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 ...

Communities

Cities

* Akiak * Aniak *

* Chefornak *

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 ...

* Eek * Goodnews Bay * Kwethluk * Lower Kalskag * Mekoryuk * Napakiak * Napaskiak * Nightmute * Nunapitchuk *

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 ...

* Quinhagak * Toksook Bay * Upper Kalskag

Census-designated places

* Akiachak * Atmautluak * Crooked Creek * Kasigluk * Kipnuk * Kongiganak * Kwigillingok * Lime Village * Mertarvik * Newtok * Oscarville * Red Devil * Sleetmute * Stony River * Tuluksak * Tuntutuliak * Tununak

Unincorporated communities

* Crow Village * Georgetown * Napaimute * Umkumiute

Education

School districts include:
Text list
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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 ...

* Kuspuk School District *

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 ...

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 ...

* Yupiit School District

References

External links

Census Area map, 2000 census: Alaska Department of Labor

Census Area map, 2010 census: Alaska Department of Labor
{{Coord, 60, 45, N, 160, 30, W, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-AK_source:gnis_scale:6000000 Alaska census areas Bering Sea Populated places established in 1980 1980 establishments in Alaska