Salcha ( Tanana: ''Soł Chaget'',

Tanacross Tanacross (also Transitional Tanana) is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 people in eastern Interior Alaska. Overview The word Tanacross (from " Tanana Crossing") has been used to refer both to a village in eastern ...

: ''Saagescheeg'') is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Fairbanks North Star Borough The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,655, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks. The borough's land area is slightly smaller than tha ...

in the U.S. state 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 ...

. It is part of the

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,095 at the 2010 census, up from 854 in 2000.

Geography

Salcha is located at (64.520455, -147.011452). The village was first reported in 1898 by the U.S. Geological Survey as "Salchaket", deriving from the Tanana name ''Soł Chaget'' meaning "the mouth of Salcha". It is about south of Fairbanks on the

Richardson Highway The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbank ...

. It is next to the

Salcha River The Salcha River (Lower Tanana language, Lower Tanana: ''Sołchaget'') is a tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Rising in the eastern part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, Fairbanks North Star Borough east of For ...

, a popular fishing destination. It is also next to the

Tanana River The Tanana River (Lower Tanana language, Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana language, Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Brig ...

. Salcha has its own post office. The ZIP code for Salcha is 99714. The Salcha Seismic Zone underlies the community. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.59%, is water.

Climate

Salcha has a dry-winter

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

Dwc).

Demographics

Salcha first appeared on the 1980 U.S. Census as a census-designated place (CDP). As of the census of 2000, there were 854 people, 317 households, and 224 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 388 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.82%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.64%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.86% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.23%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.29% from other races, and 4.22% from two or more races. 2.81% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 317 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.16. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,063, and the median income for a family was $61,563. Males had a median income of $42,863 versus $26,071 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $22,616. None of the families and 3.9% of the population were living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska