Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wales’ mean commuting time is 5 minutes, against 21 minutes in Alaska’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Of the 42 Alaska towns we compare, none has a lower midpoint age than Wales. Wales has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Wales beats most towns.
Census counts: 400 in 1880, a peak of 488 in 1890, 168 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and a map from 1950 on.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Ordered by what stands out in Wales.
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Wales than in 98% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 87% come from cold waves and 5% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Wales once, in 2004.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Bering Strait School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 31 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts
Among adults in Wales, 36% smoke cigarettes. No town among the 42 in Alaska we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Wales. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Wales is ahead of Alaska on 1 and behind on 25.
| Wales | Alaska towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wales | AK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.2% | 7% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 44.1% | 14.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.1 miles of trail. The density of trails in Wales is 0.5 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wales, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
City in Alaska, United States
Wales (Inupiaq: Kiŋigin, IPA: [kiŋiɣin]) is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Wales had a population of 168. It is the westernmost city on the North American mainland, although Adak, located on Adak Island, is the westernmost city in Alaska. Wales Airport serves Wales with flights on Bering Air and Ravn Alaska to Nome.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wales has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Ask a question, answer one, post a photo or an event. Free, and the parts only a neighbor would know are the parts worth reading.