Bethel Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. As of 2000, the population is 16,006. It is part of the unorganized borough

Unorganized Borough

The Unorganized Borough is the part of the U.S. state of Alaska not contained in any of its 18 organized boroughs. It encompasses more than half of Alaska's area, , an area larger than any other US state...

 and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community by far is the city of Bethel

Bethel, Alaska

Bethel is a city located near the west coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, west of Anchorage. Accessible only by air and river, Bethel is the main port on the Kuskokwim River and is an administrative and transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.Bethel is the largest...

, which also the largest city in the entire Unorganized Borough.

Geography

The census area has a total area of 45508 square miles (117,865.2 km²), of which, 40633 square miles (105,239 km²) of it is land and 4875 square miles (12,626.2 km²) of it (10.71%) is water. Its territory includes the large offshore Nunivak Island

Nunivak Island

Nunivak Island , the second largest island in the Bering Sea, is a permafrost-covered volcanic island lying about 30 miles offshore from the delta of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in the state of Alaska, at about 60° North latitude...

 in the Bering Sea

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

• Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska
  Wade Hampton Census Area, Alaska
  Wade Hampton Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,028. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...
  
   - northwest
• Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
  Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
  Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,588. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...
  
   - north
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
  Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
  -National protected areas:* Chugach National Forest * Denali National Park and Preserve ** Denali Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ** Lake Clark Wilderness -Demographics:...
  
   - east
• Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
  Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
  -National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Chiswell Islands** Tuxedni Wilderness* Chugach National Forest * Katmai National Park and Preserve ** Katmai Wilderness...
  
   - southeast
• Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska
  Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska
  -National protected areas:* Alagnak Wild River* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Sutwik Island* Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge * Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve...
  
   - south
• Dillingham Census Area, Alaska
  Dillingham Census Area, Alaska
  Dillingham Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 4,922. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...
  
   - south

National protected areas

• Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
  Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
  The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge 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 which is wilderness)...
  
   (part of the Bering Sea unit)
  • Bering Sea Wilderness
    Bering Sea Wilderness
    Bering Sea Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is in area and was designated by the United States Congress in 1970. It encompasses St. Matthew Island, Hall Island, and Pinnacle Island and is part of the larger Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife...
    
    
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
  Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
  Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southwestern Alaska. The park includes many streams and lakes vital to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery...
  
   (part)
  • Lake Clark Wilderness (part)
• Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
  Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
  Dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge confronts the traveler with a kaleidoscope of landscapes. The natural forces that have shaped this land range from the violent and powerful to the geologically patient...
  
   (part)
  • Togiak Wilderness
    Togiak Wilderness
    Togiak Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in the Dillingham and Bethel Census Areas in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. At , it occupies the northern half of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge...
    
     (part)
• Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
  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 Wildlife Refuge. It is a coastal plain extending to the...
  
   (part)
  • Nunivak Wilderness

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 16,006 people, 4,226 households, and 3,173 families residing in the census area. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 0 people per square mile (0/km²). There were 5,188 housing units at an average density of 0/sq mi (0/km²). The racial makeup of the census area was 12.53% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.38% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 81.93% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 1.05% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.06% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.19% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 3.85% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race.

There were 4,226 households out of which 51.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.20% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age 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% who were 65 years of age 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 3 where it is neither English nor Spanish. 63.14% of the population speak a Yupik language

Yupik language

The Yupik languages are the several distinct languages of the several Yupik peoples of western and southcentral Alaska and northeastern Siberia. The Yupik languages differ enough from one another that speakers of different ones cannot understand each other, although they may understand the general...

at home, followed by English at 34.71% http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=2&county_id=50&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r.

External links

• Census Area map: Alaska Department of Labor