Yakutat County

Key demographics — Yakutat City and Borough (county-equivalent), Alaska

Population

• Total population: 662 (2020 Census)
• 2023 population estimate: 608 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program)

Age (ACS 2018–2022)

• Under 18: 19.5%
• 65 and over: 10.6%
• Working age (18–64): 69.9%
• Median age: ~41 years

Sex (ACS 2018–2022)

• Male: 57.4%
• Female: 42.6%

Race and ethnicity (U.S. Census Bureau; race alone unless noted)

• White: 48.2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 34.8%
• Asian: 6.1%
• Black or African American: 0.8%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: ~0.2%
• Two or more races: 10.1%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): 4.1%
• White alone, not Hispanic: 46.0%

Households and housing (ACS 2018–2022)

• Households: 284
• Average household size: 2.26
• Owner-occupied housing rate: 57.4%
• Median household income: $92,589
• Individuals below poverty level: 4.2%

Notes

• “Yakutat County” is officially Yakutat City and Borough, a county-equivalent.
• ACS figures are multi-year estimates and subject to higher margins of error due to the small population. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census, 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, and 2023 Population Estimates.

Yakutat County (City & Borough of Yakutat), AK – Email usage snapshot

• Population and density: ~662 residents (2020 Census) across ~7,650 sq mi of land; ~0.09 people per sq mi, among the lowest densities in the U.S.
• Estimated email users: ~500 residents actively use email (≈75% of total population). Estimate based on ~90% adoption among residents 13+ applied to Yakutat’s small, adult‑skewed population.
• Age distribution of users:
  • 13–34: ~30–35% of users; near‑universal email use for school, jobs, and services.
  • 35–64: ~50–55% of users; primary work and government‑service channel.
  • 65+: ~10–15% of users; growing uptake but still below younger cohorts.
• Gender split: Email adoption closely mirrors Yakutat’s male‑leaning population; roughly 52% male and 48% female among users.
• Digital access and connectivity:
  • No road connection; reliance on air/sea logistics contributes to higher backhaul costs and uneven last‑mile options.
  • Mix of LTE/mobile data, fixed wireless, and satellite; rapid uptake of low‑earth‑orbit satellite since 2022 has improved latency and reliability.
  • Public access points (library, school, tribal/government offices) remain important.
  • Smartphone‑first usage is common; some households are mobile‑only.
• Insight: Because email is low‑bandwidth and works well on intermittent connections, it remains a ubiquitous channel for government, healthcare, schooling, and seasonal industries.

Mobile phone usage in Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska (2025 snapshot)

Executive summary

• Yakutat is a very small, remote borough where mobile connectivity is essential but constrained by limited carrier presence, LTE-only radio access, and non-fiber backhaul. Usage is high among working-age residents, with heavier-than-average reliance on Wi‑Fi calling and satellite backhaul compared with Alaska’s urban centers.

User estimates

• Population baseline: 662 residents (2020 Decennial Census).
• Estimated resident mobile users: approximately 450–550 unique users (roughly 70–85% of residents), derived from rural Alaska smartphone adoption patterns and age structure typical of small coastal communities.
• Device mix: overwhelmingly smartphones; basic/feature phones are a small minority, concentrated among older adults.
• Seasonality: mobile traffic and active devices rise notably during the summer fishing/tourism season, with evening and weekend peaks stronger than in winter; this seasonality is more pronounced than Alaska statewide.

Demographic breakdown (usage patterns and adoption)

• Age
  • 18–34: near-universal smartphone adoption; heavy app and social use; mobile-first for entertainment.
  • 35–54: high adoption; mobile-first for messaging/voice, with significant tethering and work apps tied to fisheries, logistics, and travel.
  • 55+: adoption is lower than state averages; voice/Wi‑Fi calling and messaging dominate; data consumption is lighter but growing due to telehealth and family video calling.
• Household connectivity
  • Higher share of “mobile-first” or “mobile-only” households than Alaska urban areas, driven by the limited availability and higher cost of wired broadband options.
  • Multi-line and multi-SIM behavior is common among working households to ensure coverage and redundancy (e.g., one GCI line plus an AT&T or a satellite backup).
• Community composition
  • Alaska Native households play a central role in local adoption trends; mobile devices are primary tools for communication, government services, and subsistence and cultural coordination, with stronger reliance on messaging and social platforms than on traditional desktop internet.
• Affordability and plans
  • Prepaid and budget plans have higher share than in Anchorage/Fairbanks/Juneau.
  • Wi‑Fi offload (home, harbor, lodge, school/library) is heavily used to manage data costs and cope with backhaul limits.

Digital infrastructure snapshot

• Radio access
  • LTE is the de facto standard in and around the townsite and airport. 5G NR availability lags urban Alaska and is effectively absent for most users as of 2025.
  • Coverage drops quickly outside the town and road system; the majority of the borough’s land area has no terrestrial mobile signal.
• Carriers and roaming
  • GCI provides the primary LTE footprint locally.
  • AT&T service is present; FirstNet availability for public safety is typical in Alaska and used for redundancy.
  • Verizon service is limited and often relies on roaming partners; T‑Mobile has little to no native footprint locally.
• Backhaul and resilience
  • Backhaul is predominantly microwave and/or satellite rather than terrestrial fiber, which constrains capacity and raises latency versus Alaska’s urban fiber-fed sites.
  • Weather, power events, and seasonal load meaningfully affect performance and reliability; Wi‑Fi calling is a critical mitigation.
  • Starlink and other LEO satellite services are increasingly used by households and businesses for primary or backup internet, indirectly improving mobile experience via Wi‑Fi offload.
• Public and anchor connectivity
  • Community anchor institutions (school, library, clinic) provide important Wi‑Fi access and serve as digital hubs, a heavier role than in urban Alaska.

How Yakutat differs from Alaska statewide trends

• Network availability
  • LTE-only experience is common; 5G coverage that now serves a majority of Alaska’s urban population is not a meaningful factor in Yakutat.
  • Far fewer competitive choices; residents often choose between one primary local carrier and a secondary line or roaming solution, unlike the three-to-four carrier competition seen in cities.
• Performance and capacity
  • Typical speeds and latency are more variable and often lower than statewide urban averages due to microwave/satellite backhaul and seasonal congestion.
  • Coverage is highly localized; service fades quickly beyond the town core, unlike broader suburban footprints near Anchorage/Mat‑Su and Fairbanks.
• Usage patterns
  • Higher reliance on Wi‑Fi calling and messaging; greater use of offline-capable apps and asynchronous communications.
  • More mobile-only households and higher prepaid share than urban Alaska.
  • Stronger seasonal demand spikes tied to fisheries and tourism; planning for peak loads is a larger operational factor than in most of the state.
• Resilience posture
  • Greater emphasis on redundancy: multiple SIMs, satellite backup, and community Wi‑Fi are commonly used to mitigate outages and backhaul limits.

Notes on sources and method

• Population: U.S. Census 2020 Decennial count (Yakutat City and Borough: 662).
• User and adoption estimates: derived from U.S. Census/ACS small-area population structure, Pew Research Center smartphone adoption, NTIA broadband usage patterns in rural/tribal areas, FCC coverage filings, and Alaska carrier public coverage information current to 2024–2025. Exact subscriber counts are not publicly reported at the borough level; figures above reflect best-available localization of statewide rural trends combined with Yakutat’s infrastructure profile.

Yakutat City and Borough (AK) social media snapshot — 2025

Summary user stats (modeled for residents age 13+)

• Use any social platform monthly: 87% (±6 pp)
• Daily social use: 62%
• Average platforms used per person: 3.1
• Primary device: smartphone 95% of social users

Most‑used platforms (monthly reach, share of residents 13+)

• YouTube: 88%
• Facebook: 74%
• Facebook Messenger: 67%
• Instagram: 43%
• TikTok: 37%
• Snapchat: 31%
• Pinterest: 27%
• Reddit: 18%
• X (Twitter): 13%
• WhatsApp: 11%
• Nextdoor: ~1% Daily use (selected): Facebook 56%, YouTube 49%, Instagram 29%, TikTok 28%, Snapchat 25%

Age breakdown (monthly reach, top platforms)

• 13–17: YouTube 96%, Snapchat 78%, TikTok 74%, Instagram 68%, Facebook 35%
• 18–24: YouTube 95%, Instagram 78%, TikTok 71%, Snapchat 64%, Facebook 52%
• 25–34: YouTube 92%, Facebook 73%, Instagram 61%, TikTok 54%
• 35–54: YouTube 88%, Facebook 81%, Instagram 46%, TikTok 32%
• 55+: Facebook 77%, YouTube 74%, Instagram 26%, TikTok 14%

Gender breakdown (monthly reach)

• Women: Facebook 78%, Instagram 46%, Pinterest 44%, YouTube 85%, TikTok 36%, Snapchat 29%
• Men: YouTube 91%, Facebook 70%, Instagram 39%, TikTok 37%, Reddit 24%, X 16%

Behavioral trends

• Facebook is the community hub: Groups and Marketplace drive local news, buy/sell/trade, school and borough notices, weather and travel updates, and fishing reports. Messenger is the default for 1:1 and small‑group coordination.
• Strong seasonality: Posting, event promotion, and business activity (charters, lodges, guides) spike late spring–early fall; more static in winter.
• Video first: Starlink-driven bandwidth gains have increased YouTube and short‑form video (Reels/TikTok) consumption and local uploads; offline downloads for YouTube remain common for travel or poor connectivity.
• Youth skew: Teens concentrate on Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; Facebook usage among under‑20s is comparatively low but rises quickly after age 25 as people engage with community groups and Marketplace.
• Commerce patterns: Small businesses rely on Facebook Pages and cross‑post to Instagram; Reels/TikTok used for discovery, Facebook for conversion (DMs, phone calls, in‑person visits).
• Engagement timing: Evenings (7–10 pm AKT) and weekends show the highest interaction; midday sees a secondary check‑in peak.
• Platform depth: Reddit and X are niche and male‑skewed; WhatsApp is limited to family/multilingual and travel use; Nextdoor has negligible footprint.

Notes on method

• Figures are the best available localized estimates for Yakutat, derived from Alaska‑wide survey data (e.g., Pew Research Center 2024), platform advertising audience tools, U.S. Census/ACS connectivity patterns, and rural‑Alaska adjustments. Small population implies ±5–10 percentage‑point uncertainty on platform shares.