View source for Noorvik, Alaska

{{short description|City in Alaska, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Noorvik
| native_name        = Nuurvik
| native_name_lang   = ik
| settlement_type    = [[City (Alaska)|City]]
| nickname           = The Place to Move To
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Noorvik, AK.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Aerial view of Noorvik in 2011
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map          = Northwest Arctic Borough Alaska incorporated and unincorporated areas Noorvik highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 260px
| map_caption        = Location in [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic Borough]] and the state of [[Alaska]].

<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Alaska]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|Borough]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name        = Vern Cleveland<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Hopkins|first1=Kyle|title=Dunleavy sworn in as governor after a very Alaskan travel glitch|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2018/12/03/theres-never-been-an-alaska-inauguration-like-this-noorvik-welcomes-dunleavy|access-date=December 3, 2018|work=[[Anchorage Daily News]]|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref>
| leader_title1      = [[List of Alaska Native tribal entities|Tribal president]]
| leader_name1       = Wilber Howarth Sr.
| leader_title2      = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
| leader_name2       = [[Donny Olson]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| leader_title3      = [[Alaska House of Representatives|State rep.]]
| leader_name3       = [[Robyn Burke]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| established_title  = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
| established_date   = March 11, 1964<ref>{{cite book|title=1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=[[Juneau]]|publisher=Alaska Municipal League/[[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs]]|date=January 1996|page=108}}</ref>

<!-- Area -->| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 3.28
| area_land_km2      = 2.17
| area_water_km2     = 1.11
| area_total_sq_mi   = 1.26
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.84
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.43

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 694
| population_density_km2 = 319.65
| population_density_sq_mi = 828.16
| timezone           = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
| utc_offset         = -9
| timezone_DST       = AKDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -8
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 0
| elevation_ft       = 0
| coordinates        = {{coord|66|50|00|N|161|2|45|W|region:US-AK_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 99763
| area_code          = [[Area code 907|907]]
| area_code_type     = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 02-55140
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = {{GNIS 4|1413646}}
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_est     = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| name               = 
}}
[[File:Noorvik Friends' Church.jpg|thumb|The Friends' Church in Noorvik]]

'''Noorvik''' ({{langx|ik|Nuurvik}}, meaning "A place to move to") is an [[Inupiat people|Iñupiat]] city in the [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic Borough]] in the U.S. state of [[Alaska]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population of the city was 694, up from 668 in 2010.<ref name="2020 Census Data">{{cite web | url = https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html | title = 2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places | format = Web | publisher = State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development | access-date = December 5, 2021}}</ref> Located in the NANA Region Corp, Noorvik has close ties with the largest city in the region, [[Kotzebue]]. Residents speak a dialect of [[Inupiaq language|Iñupiaq]] known as Noorvik Inupiaq. Noorvik was the first town to be counted in the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census.]]<ref>The Associated Press. ''[http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/883205.html 2010 census to start in remote Alaska village]''. [[Anchorage Daily News]]. July 31, 2009.</ref>

==Geography==
[[Image:Kotzebue Sound.png|thumb|left|300px|Map showing Kotzebue Sound and the town of Noorvik]]
Noorvik is located at {{coord|66|50|14|N|161|2|12|W|type:city}} (66.837130, -161.036641).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

Noorvik is located on the right bank of the Nazuruk Channel of the [[Kobuk River]], {{convert|76|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which, {{convert|1.0|sqmi|km2}} of it is land and {{convert|0.4|sqmi|km2}} of it (28.36%) is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1920= 281
|1930= 198
|1940= 211
|1950= 248
|1960= 384
|1970= 462
|1980= 492
|1990= 531
|2000= 634
|2010= 668
|2020= 694
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
Noorvik first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It formally incorporated in 1964.

As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 634 people in 136 households, including 113 families, in the city.  The population density was {{convert|658.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 157 housing units at an average density of {{convert|163.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the city was 4.89% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 90.06% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 4.89% from two or more races, and 0.16% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]].

Of the 136 households 58.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.9% were non-families. 14.7% of households were one person and 1.5% were one person aged 65 or older.  The average household size was 4.66 and the average family size was 5.19.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 44.5% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 11.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% 65 or older.  The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 135.7 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.7 males.

The median household income was $51,964 and the median family income  was $52,708. Males had a median income of $34,750 versus $24,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,020.  About 9.4% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

==History==
''Noorvik'' means "a place that is moved to" in [[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]]. The village was established by Kowagmuit Inupiat fishermen and hunters from [[Deering, Alaska|Deering]] in the early 1900s. Other settlers came from [[Oksik, Alaska|Oksik]], a few miles upriver. The area had previously been inhabited by Kuuŋmuit Inuit up until the beginning of the 20th century, whose organized settlements had largely disappeared by the turn of the century due to famine and a flu outbreak.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burch|first=Ernest|title=Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations of Northwest Alaska|publisher=University of Alaska Press|year=1998|isbn=0-912006-95-1|location=Fairbanks, Alaska|pages=171–189}}</ref> However, the village tribal association has founded itself on "the legacy of the Kuuŋmuit Inuit," including basing their logo on a map of the Kuuŋmuit's former territory.<ref>[http://www.ncai.org/tribal-directory?area=6&page=6&submit=Search&utf8=✓ National Congress of American Indians-Tribes]</ref>

==Education==
The Aqqaluk Noorvik School, operated by the [[Northwest Arctic Borough School District]], serves the community. {{As of|2017}} it had 12 teachers and 186 students, with [[Alaska Natives]] and Native Americans, making up 94% and 1% of the student body respectively<ref>[http://www.nwarctic.org/Domain/15 Home]. Aqqaluk Noorvik School. Retrieved on March 26, 2017.</ref>

==Transport==
The city includes the [[Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport]], also known as the Noorvik Airport, 1 mile southeast from the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nfdc.faa.gov/nfdcApps/services/ajv5/airportDisplay.jsp?airportId=D76|title=ROBERT/BOB/CURTIS MEMORIAL|website=nfdc.faa.gov|access-date=November 13, 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2007/04/ocn123495361.pdf Subsistence wildlife harvests in five northwest Alaska communities, 2001-2003 : results of a household survey / by Kawerak, Inc., Maniilaq Association, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game ; by Susan Georgette ... [et al.&#93;.] Hosted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012120420/http://library.state.ak.us/asp/ Alaska State Publications Program].
{{Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Populated places of the Arctic United States]]