Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Alaska.
Wiseman’s January low is -19°F, below both Alaska’s towns (7°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). 100% of the land in Wiseman is conserved, above both Alaska’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest park or preserve is Gates of the Arctic National Park, at 1,125 acres. We don’t grade Wiseman yet; the figures below are still real.
Census counts: 58 in 1930, 5 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers and 3 maps from 1951 on.
Ordered by what stands out in Wiseman.
Wiseman’s trail network density works out to 0.2 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 12 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The parks and preserves spread over 2,250 acres of the town.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gates of the Arctic National Park | — | 1,125 |
| 2. Gates of the Arctic Wilderness | — | 1,125 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On expected storm and flood damage, Wiseman sits above just over three fifths of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 69% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 10% to avalanches.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For adults in Wiseman, the share who worry about having enough food is 16%. Only one of the 42 Alaska towns we compare has a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Wiseman. 40% of adults in Wiseman sleep under 7 hours; 35% feel lonely.
| Wiseman | Typical Alaska town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 68% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 32% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wiseman | AK |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who get no exercise | 25.8% | 21.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.7% | 9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.4% | 14.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Wiseman is unincorporated, so Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
None within 15 miles of Wiseman; the nearest are
CDP in Alaska, United States
Wiseman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The full time resident population is 12 as of 2022. Wiseman is a small mining community along the Middle Fork Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range. It was founded by gold miners who abandoned the Slate Creek (later Coldfoot) settlement around 1908. Another small mining village (Nolan, on Nolan creek - to the north) survived into the 1970s. Robert Marshall, who became a prominent American forester, preservation activist, and a co-founder of The Wilderness Society, wrote the bestselling book, Arctic Village, about his 15-month stay in this frontier town around the year 1930. Marshall described Wiseman…
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Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Wiseman yet; the figures below are still real. A town in Alaska.
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