Selawik - Noorvik is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 4,790 people and just one neighborhood, Selawik - Noorvik is the 15th largest community in Alaska.
Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Selawik - Noorvik is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 36.92% of the Selawik - Noorvik workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 27.7%. Overall, Selawik - Noorvik is a town of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Selawik - Noorvik who work in office and administrative support (9.16%), teaching (8.88%), and maintenance occupations (7.94%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.34% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Selawik - Noorvik has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Selawik - Noorvik has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Selawik - Noorvik than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Selawik - Noorvik may be for you.
One of the nice things about Selawik - Noorvik is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 8.83 minutes getting to work every day.
The citizens of Selawik - Noorvik have a very low rate of college education: just 6.27% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, compared to a national average of 21.84% for all cities.
The per capita income in Selawik - Noorvik in 2022 was $19,209, which is low income relative to Alaska and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $76,836 for a family of four. However, Selawik - Noorvik contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Selawik - Noorvik home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Selawik - Noorvik residents report their race to be Native American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Selawik - Noorvik include German, English, Irish, Dutch, and Yugoslavian.
The most common language spoken in Selawik - Noorvik is English. Other important languages spoken here include Native American languages and Tagalog.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America. Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 41.7%, which is higher than 97.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 93.3% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
In the neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 51.2% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 99.9% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!
Also, in the neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that 34.3% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 99.4% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Finally, if you like to ride a ferry to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 0.6% of the neighborhood's commuters ride a ferry to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 98.6% of America's neighborhoods.
American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the neighborhood buck this trend. 78.8% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 23.6% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 99.6% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The neighborhood is unique for having just 6.3% of adults here having earned a bachelor's degree. This is a lower rate of college graduates than NeighborhoodScout found in 96.3% of America's neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 90.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Native American ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 39.0% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Selawik - Noorvik are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 68.3% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 29.6% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 81.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 36.6% of the working population is employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 29.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions (23.6%), and 22.1% in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants.
Languages
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 69.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Native American languages and Tagalog (the first language of the Philippine region).
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Selawik - Noorvik, AK, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Native American (90.6%). There are also a number of people of Asian ancestry (2.8%).
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (93.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (51.2%) hop out the door and walk to work to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (34.3%) and 5.5% of residents also drive alone in a private automobile for their daily commute. This is a special neighborhood for the number of people who walk to work. Combining exercise, low cost, and reduced pollution, plus the chance to see your neighbors, walking to work is fairly uncommon in America but likely to increase as people try to reduce their dependence on automobiles, and this neighborhood offers that opportunity today.
