About Bethel

Bethel is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 7,047 people and just one neighborhood, Bethel is the eighth largest community in Alaska.

Bethel is neither predominently blue-collar or white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Bethel is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Bethel who work in office and administrative support jobs (16.09%), management occupations (9.24%), and teaching (8.93%).

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Bethel are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One of the benefits of Bethel is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 9.57 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

In Bethel, a lot of people use taxis to get to work every day even though Bethel is a relatively small town. Those that ride taxis are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.

Bethel Information and Demographics

The education level of Bethel citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 19.27% of adults in Bethel have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Bethel in 2000 was $17,731, which is middle income relative to Alaska and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $70,924 for a family of four.

Bethel is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Bethel home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Bethel is Native American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Bethel include English and German.

The most common language spoken in Bethel is English. Some people also speak Other Native American languages.