Buckland, Alaska

Buckland Nunachiam
City
Aerial view of Buckland from the east
Location in Northwest Arctic Borough and the state of Alaska.
Coordinates: 65°59′5″N 161°7′47″W
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Northwest Arctic
Incorporated	June 6, 1966
Government
• Mayor	Patricia Ann Thomas
• State senator	Donny Olson (D)
• State rep.	Tom Baker (R)
Area
• Total	1.00 sq mi (2.59 km2)
• Land	0.85 sq mi (2.21 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.39 km2)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	550
• Density	645.54/sq mi (249.34/km2)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99727
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-09600
GNIS feature ID	1412684

Buckland (Inupiaq: Nunatchiaq) is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 416, up from 406 in 2000. It takes its English name from the Buckland River, which in turn takes its name from Oxford University professor William Buckland.

Geography

Buckland is located at 65°59′5″N 161°7′47″W (65.984795, -161.129717).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (13.48%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	52		—
1930	104		100.0%
1940	115		10.6%
1960	87		—
1970	104		19.5%
1980	177		70.2%
1990	318		79.7%
2000	406		27.7%
2010	416		2.5%
2020	550		32.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

Buckland first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. Around 1941, residents relocated temporarily to Elephant Point (AKA Buckland Post Office) on Eschscholtz Bay, and Buckland did not report a population for the 1950 census (108 was reported for Elephant Point). Residents soon returned to Buckland, and it has reported in every successive census since 1960 and formally incorporated in 1966.

As of the census of 2000, there were 406 people, 84 households, and 75 families residing in the city. The population density was 332.3 inhabitants per square mile (128.3/km²). There were 89 housing units at an average density of 72.8 per square mile (28.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 3.20% White, 95.81% Native American, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 84 households, out of which 66.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.7% were non-families. 8.3% 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 4.83 and the average family size was 5.19.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 51.2% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 10.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 18 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,333, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $31,563 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,624. About 7.9% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Buckland School, operated by the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, serves the community. As of 2017 it had 168 students, with Alaska Natives making up 96% of the student body. The current school building opened in 2002.