Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area is a census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,343, down from 5,588 in 2010. With an area of, it is the largest of any county or county-equivalent in the United States. While slightly larger than the entire state of Montana, the census area only consists of 22.2% of Alaska's total area. It is part of the unorganized borough of Alaska and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest communities are the cities of Galena, in the west, and Fort Yukon, in the northeast.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the census area has, of which is land and is water. The area is slightly larger than the entire U.S. state of Montana, itself the fourth largest state, or the country of Japan, and makes up slightly more than 1/5 of the state of Alaska. The area is bigger than 47 of the other 49 states, with only California and Texas being bigger. Its population density, at, is the lowest in the United States.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

North Slope Borough, Alaska – north
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska – southeast
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska – southeast
Denali Borough, Alaska – southeast
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska – south
Bethel Census Area, Alaska – south
Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska – west
Nome Census Area, Alaska – west
Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska – northwest
Yukon Territory, Canada – east

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,343. The median age was 37.9 years. 26.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 113.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 114.1 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 21.1% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.3% of the population.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,194 households in the county, of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,014 housing units, of which 45.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.8% were owner-occupied and 27.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.6%.

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 1980	Pop 1990	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone	3,255	3,538	1,574	1,218	1,121	41.34%	41.73%	24.03%	21.80%	20.98%
Black or African American alone	117	88	6	9	6	1.49%	1.04%	0.09%	0.16%	0.11%
Native American or Alaska Native alone	4,366	4,719	4,610	3,967	3,818	55.46%	55.66%	70.37%	70.99%	71.46%
Asian alone	21	50	23	14	8	0.27%	0.59%	0.35%	0.25%	0.15%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone	x	x	3	6	3	x	x	0.05%	0.11%	0.06%
Other race alone	24	1	10	2	16	0.30%	0.01%	0.15%	0.04%	0.30%
Mixed race or Multiracial	x	x	247	306	299	x	x	3.77%	5.48%	5.60%
Hispanic or Latino	90	82	78	66	72	1.14%	0.97%	1.19%	1.18%	1.35%
Total	7,873	8,478	6,551	5,588	5,343	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Ancestry	Percentage of Population
Alaskan Athabaskan	65.52%
German	9.27%
Irish	3.39%
Iñupiat	3.00%
Alaska Native tribes, not specified	2.58%
English	2.56%
Scottish	2.05%
Norwegian	1.85%
Yup'ik	1.75%
Mexican	1.68%
Russian	1.66%

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 6,551 people, 2,309 households, and 1,480 families residing in the census area. The population density was square miles per person. It is the least densely populated county-equivalent of all 3,141 county-equivalents of the United States. There were 3,917 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the census area was 24.27% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 70.89% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 3.91% from two or more races. 1.19% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.95% reported speaking an Athabaskan language at home; of these 35.26% spoke Gwich'in and 10.94% Koyukon.
Of the 2,309 households 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.90% were married couples living together, 16.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 30.50% of households were one person and 6.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.53.
The age distribution was 35.00% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.60 males.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Education

School districts include:

Politics

Like other areas of the sparse Alaskan Bush with large Alaska Native majorities, the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area often favors the Democratic Party relative to the state as a whole. Though it voted Republican in all presidential elections in the 2000s, it has supported the Democrats more recently by nearly 30-point margins.