Tununak () 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

Bethel Census Area, Alaska Bethel Census Area is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population is 18,666, up from 17,013 in 2010. It is part of the unorganized boro ...

, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 411.

Geography

Tununak is located at (60.580477, -165.259486). It is located on the northwest side of Nelson Island 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 ...

. It is approximately from the closest village Toksook Bay and a year-round trail exists between the two villages. 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, of it is land and of it (0.33%) is water.

Demographics

Tununak was visited by

Edward Nelson Edward Nelson (May 4, 1932 – September 10, 2014) was an American mathematician. He was professor in the Mathematics Department at Princeton University. He was known for his work on mathematical physics and mathematical logic. In mathematical l ...

in December 1878, where he reported 6 people living there. Two years later, it first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as "Tanunak", an unincorporated village of 8 residents, all Inuit. It appeared on the 1890 census as the village of "Dununuk." A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

mission was later established in 1891. In 1940, it appeared again as "Tanunak" until it was incorporated as Tununak in 1975. It was disincorporated in 1997 and made a census-designated place (CDP) effective with the 2000 census. As of the census of 2000, there were 325 people, 82 households, and 59 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 93 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.77% Central Yupik, 3.08%

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 ...

, and 2.15% from two or more races. There were 82 households, out of which 47.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.96 and the average family size was 5.00. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 42.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 12.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 139.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 159.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $26,500. Males had a median income of $18,125 versus $0 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 $7,653. About 29.6% of families and 30.8% of the population were 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 37.9% of those under age 18 and 50.0% of those age 65 or over. The naturalist

, who visited the island in 1878, noted 6 people living on Nelson Island: 5 Yupik and one non-Yupik trader.

Composition

In 2003 there were seventy houses. There were also two shops and a video/DVD rental business.Price, p. 43.

Government and infrastructure

In 2003 the community had a post office. In 2003 " honey buckets" for human waste and wells for drinking water were used due to a lack of sewage and water systems.

Education

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 ...

operates Paul T. Albert Memorial School, K-12. It is a bilingual English-Yugtun school. there are about 108 students at the school, all Alaska Natives.Paul T. Albert Memorial School
" Paul T. Albert Memorial School. Retrieved on July 13, 2018. In 2003 it was the building of the largest size in Tununak. Kimberly C. Price, who formerly taught at the school, stated that students are in mainly Yupik speaking houses and generally retain fluency of the language. The

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

(BIA) formerly operated a school in Tununak. It was converted into school district employee housing.

Transportation

* Tununak Airport There was a single main road. File:Tununak 2011-10-28 15.37.27 (8183155339).jpg, Tununak File:Tununak 2012-02-08 16.09.33 (8183195818).jpg, Tununak in the winter File:Tununak, Alaska (5069656997).jpg, View towards Tununak from the north File:Tununak (8183198050).jpg, Houses in Tununak