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 147842.51 sqmi, it is the largest of any county or county-equivalent in the United States, or slightly larger than the entire state of Montana. 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 147805 sqmi, of which 145505 sqmi is land and 2300 sqmi (1.6%) 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 undefined PD/sqmi, is the lowest in the United States.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

National protected areas

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.

Demographics

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 (km2) 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 undefined /sqmi. 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% speak Gwich'in and 10.94% speak 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.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Education

School districts include: