Photo: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve · CC BY 2.0How is Shishmaref run?
Shishmaref’s city government spent $772,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, about $1,274 per resident. That is its newest year reported to the Census Bureau. Water and other utilities ($162,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Shishmaref is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
Bering Strait School District
Shishmaref’s K–12 school district, shared with Brevig Mission, Diomede, Elim, Gambell, Golovin and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $50,455 per pupil, $26,508 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Alaska districts overall: 24% local, 55% state, 21% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $1,274 per resident a year, or $3.49 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 60%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,274 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Shishmaref’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,274 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 67 Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,761, and the middle half spent $992–$2,776. Shishmaref spent less than 61% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($26,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Shishmaref itself left out).
No trend yet
Shishmaref reported only 2022 to the Census Bureau (2023 is an estimate), so there is no trend yet.
Who’s in charge in Shishmaref
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 76 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (606).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Shishmaref.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Alaska HouseState representatives
- 3Alaska SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Alaska
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Shishmaref’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Shishmaref’s government
How much does Shishmaref spend per resident?
About $1,274 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,274 was less than 61% of 67 Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
Who runs Shishmaref’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Shishmaref yet.
How many people work for Shishmaref?
8 full-time and 16 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $33,921 (about $407,052 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Shishmaref in the state legislature?
State Senate District T (Donny Olson) and State House District 39 (Neal Foster). The House district also covers 26 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Shishmaref’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →