Official Name: | Wainwright |
Native Name: | Ulġuniq |
Native Name Lang: | ik |
Settlement Type: | City |
Pushpin Map: | USA Alaska |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Alaska |
Coordinates: | 70.6472°N -160.0161°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Alaska |
Subdivision Type2: | Borough |
Subdivision Name2: | North Slope |
Established Title: | Incorporated |
Established Date: | December 31, 1962[1] |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Leader Name: | Raymond Henry Savik Nashookpuk.[2] |
Leader Title1: | State senator |
Leader Name1: | Donny Olson (D) |
Leader Title2: | State rep. |
Leader Name2: | Tom Baker (R) |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Area Footnotes: | [3] |
Area Total Km2: | 72.61 |
Area Total Sq Mi: | 28.04 |
Area Land Km2: | 26.71 |
Area Land Sq Mi: | 10.31 |
Area Water Km2: | 45.90 |
Area Water Sq Mi: | 17.72 |
Elevation Ft: | 33 |
Population Total: | 628 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Density Km2: | 23.51 |
Population Density Sq Mi: | 60.89 |
Timezone: | Alaska (AKST) |
Utc Offset: | -9 |
Timezone Dst: | AKDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -8 |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
Postal Code: | 99782 |
Area Code Type: | Area code |
Area Code: | 907 |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank1 Info: | 2418869 |
Wainwright (;[4] Ulġuniq in Iñupiaq), also known as Ulguniq or Kuuk, is a city[5] in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 628,[6] making it the third largest city in the North Slope Borough, up from 556 in 2010. The community was named after Wainwright Lagoon, which in turn was named after Lt. John Wainwright, an officer under Capt. F. W. Beechey, who were the first non-native people to travel to the lagoon in 1826. An unincorporated area known as Wainwright Inlet by 1890, Wainwright was founded as an incorporated municipality in 1904.
Wainwright is located on the Chukchi Sea about 72miles southwest of Utqiaġvik.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.5sqmi, of which, 17.6sqmi of it is land and 24.9sqmi of it (58.63%) is water.
Wainwright has a dry-winter Arctic climate (Köppen ETw) with temperatures ranging from -56to. There is little precipitation, mostly snow; however, the dry winters make the annual snowfall totals more modest than they would otherwise be. The Chukchi Sea is unfrozen from early July to late September.
Wainwright first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as the unincorporated area of "Wainwright Inlet." This included the native settlement Kugmiut, camps on Kug River, Setorokamiut, Nuklwok, Nutnago and Shinnowok. All 72 residents were native.[7] It did not appear again on the census until 1920, this time as Wainwright. It was formally incorporated in 1962.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 556 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 90.1% Native American, 7.9% White and 1.6% from two or more races. 0.4% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
At the 2000 census,[8] there were 546 people, 148 households and 117 families living in the city. The population density was 31.1sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 179 housing units at an average density of 10.2sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 6.78% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 90.29% Native American, and 2.75% from two or more races.
There were 148 households, of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.69 and the average family size was 4.17.
37.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 14.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.9 males.
The median household income was $54,722 and the median family income was $58,125. Males had a median income of $36,667 versus $40,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,709. About 8.5% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
There is one school in Wainwright, the Alak School of the North Slope Borough School District, which serves students pre-kindergarten through grade 12.[9]