| County: | Bethel Census Area |
| State: | Alaska |
| Ex Image: | St. Sergius Chapel, Chuathbaluk, Alaska.jpg |
| Ex Image Size: | 300px |
| Founded Year: | 1980[1] |
| Founded Title: | Established |
| Largest City Wl: | Bethel |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 45504 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 40570 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 4934 |
| Area Percentage: | 10.8% |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 18666 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 18224 |
| Density Sq Mi: | 0.42 |
| District: | At-large |
| Time Zone: | Alaska |
Bethel Census Area is a census area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population is 18,666, up from 17,013 in 2010.[2] It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community is the city of Bethel, which is also the largest city in the unorganized borough.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the census area has an area of, of which is land and (10.8%) is water.[3] Its territory includes the large Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea.
Its land area is comparable to that of Kentucky, which has an area of slightly under forty thousand square miles.[4]
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,006 people, 4,226 households, and 3,173 families living in the census area. The population density was 0/mi2. There were 5,188 housing units at an average density of 0/mi2. The racial makeup of the census area was 12.53% White, 0.38% Black or African American, 81.93% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[5] Of the 4,226 households, 51.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.20% were married couples living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 19.90% of households were one person, and 2.80% were one person aged 65 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% 65 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 4 where it is neither English nor Spanish. 63.14% of the population speak a Yupik language at home, followed by English at 34.71%.[6]
Like most counties or equivalents with a Native American majority, Bethel tends to support Democratic presidential candidates. However, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has fared well with Alaska Native voters, carried the census area overwhelmingly in 2022.
School districts include:[7]