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ZIP Code99551

Akiachak, AK

Bethel Census Area · Alaska · United States
Home to 629 people across 7.009 square miles.

Alaska27 ZIPs in county

At a glance

99551 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
629
±132 · bottom 25% nationally
Median household income
$33,333
US median $70,109 · bottom 10%
Median home value
US median $207,500 ·
Median age
22.6
US median 42 years
Population density
90/mi²
52th pctile most dense
Land area
7.009 mi²
negligible water area

Location

Where 99551 is

60.920993, -161.402205 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates60.920993, -161.402205
Time zoneAmerica/Anchorage
CountyBethel Census Area
StateAlaska (AK)
Land area7.009 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Anchorage

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Seattle, WA1786.9 mi
San Francisco, CA2314.0 mi
Los Angeles, CA2656.9 mi
Denver, CO2767.3 mi

People

Who lives in 99551

629 residents in 138 households, averaging 4.56 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 46.4% of residents, and 76.8% of households are families.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1846.4%
18-249.7%
25-3413.0%
35-447.5%
45-548.7%
55-646.4%
65+8.3%

Households

Composition and size

Total households138
Average household size4.56
Family households76.8%
Living alone16.7%
Median age22.6 years
Households with internet87.0%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White0.2%
Native American95.1%
Pacific Islander0.6%
Two or more4.1%

Income & work

What people earn in 99551

The median household here earns $33,333 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 99551 ahead of 3% of American ZIP codes. 41.7% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$33,333
LowestHighest
Higher than 3% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$33,333 ±$16,803
Per capita income$10,690
Poverty rate41.7%
Unemployment rate25.0%
Labor force participation42.8%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k30.4%
$25-50k31.9%
$50-75k13.8%
$75-100k16.7%
$100-150k5.8%
$150-200k1.4%
$200k+0.0%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 0.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 68.1% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 99551

median rent runs $817 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 62.3% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1991.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value
Median gross rent$817/mo
Median year built1991
Housing units155
Vacancy rate11.0%

Own vs. rent

Of 138 occupied units

Owner-occupied62.3%
Renter-occupied37.7%
Owner households86
Renter households52

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family94.8%
2-4 units5.2%

Getting to work

How 99551 commutes

37.3% of workers walked, and the average one-way trip takes 8.5 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone10.0%
Walked37.3%

Travel time

Mean commute 8.5 minutes

<10 min65.5%
10-1934.5%
20-290.0%
30-440.0%
45-590.0%
60+0.0%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 99551

ZIP code 99551 is assigned to Akiachak, AK, and falls within Bethel Census Area. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 629 people live inside it.

At 90 residents per square mile spread over 7.009 square miles, 99551 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings are well below the national median. At $33,333, 99551 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 3% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Akiachak looks like

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 94.8% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1991, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.

The population skews notably young, with a median age of 22.6 against 42 nationally. Households are relatively large at 4.56 people on average, with 76.8% classified as family households.

Getting to work takes 8.5 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is walked at 37.3% of workers, while 37.3% walk. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Akiachak, AK

99551 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

Local costs are modest — median rent here is $817 a month — and accommodation prices in the area tend to be correspondingly reasonable. For reference, Seattle, WA is about 1786.9 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 99551 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 99551 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 99551 offers a compact profile of Akiachak: 629 residents, a median household income of $33,333, 0.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 25.0%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 99551 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Akiachak may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

Nearby

ZIP codes near 99551

The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Alaska ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.

More in Bethel Census Area

Look up another

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Questions

Common questions about 99551

What city is ZIP code 99551 in?
99551 serves Akiachak, Alaska, in Bethel Census Area, United States.
What is the population of 99551?
About 629 people live in ZIP code 99551, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±132. That works out to roughly 90 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 99551?
The median household income in 99551 is $33,333 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $10,690. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
Is 99551 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 0.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 25.0%, and the median age is 22.6. The average commute is 8.5 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 99551 in?
99551 observes Alaska Time (America/Anchorage). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 99551?
ZIP code 99551 covers 7.009 square miles of land, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 99551 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 99551 reads as a rural area. It holds 90 people per square mile across 7.009 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 99551?
Median gross rent in 99551 is $817 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 138 occupied homes here, 52 are rented.
What is the commute like from 99551?
The average one-way commute from 99551 takes about 8.5 minutes. The most common way to travel is walked, used by 37.3% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 99551?
About 114 residents of 99551 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 42.8% and the unemployment rate is 25.0%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 99551?
Accommodation in and around Akiachak, AK ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 99551 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Akiachak as the primary place and Bethel Census Area as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 99551 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 99551. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 99551, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.