Craig () is a city in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area in the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 1,036 at the 2020 census, down from 1,201 in 2010.

Geography

Craig is the largest town on Prince of Wales Island, the fourth-largest island in the United States.

Name

Craig was named after Craig Miller (also spelled Millar) who established a fish saltery on nearby Fish Egg Island in 1907 Craig Miller constructed a cold storage plant and packing company at the present site of Craig, Due to the badly burned state of the bodies, investigators were only certain that they had recovered the remains of seven bodies, but a coroner's jury ruled that all eight who were aboard the boat had been killed. Regional tsunami warnings and advisories were issued. Voluntary evacuations of the town occurred. Despite this, no fatalities, serious injuries, or incidents of damage were reported and the tsunami threat never materialized other than minor, localized sea level rises.

Demographics

Craig first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It incorporated in 1922.

Craig's demographic characteristics have varied following trends in the commercial fishing industry,

There were 425 households in Craig, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.6% were married-couple households, 26.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 636 || 61.4%

|-

| Black or African American || 2 || 0.2%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 214 || 20.7%

|-

| Asian || 14 || 1.4%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%

|-

| Some other race || 10 || 1.0%

|-

| Two or more races || 160 || 15.4%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 44 || 4.2%

|}

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,397 people, 523 households, and 348 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 580 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 67.07% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 21.69% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 10.02% from two or more races. 2.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 523 households, out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 31.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,298, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males had a median income of $41,111 versus $23,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,176. About 7.8% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Craig has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Summers are mild with cool nights, while winters are chilly and wet. Precipitation is abundant year-round but is heaviest in autumn.

Transportation

Craig, the island's largest population center and administrative hub actually has limited-direct transportation off Prince of Wales Island.

Seaplane base

Transportation is primarily via floatplane charters at Craig Seaplane Base. Klawock Airport can accommodate wheeled-aircraft and is a short drive away.

Ferry

Inter-Island Ferry Authority provides regularly scheduled year-round ferry service between Ketchikan and Hollis located on the Eastern coast of Prince of Wales island. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's central offices are located in Klawock. The ferry terminal is located an hour drive outside of Craig and the ferry takes 3 hours to get to Ketchikan, Alaska.

There are a few marine shipping companies providing scheduled cargo barge service to South-Eastern, Alaska. Craig is usually one of their ports-of-call, handling inter-modal shipping containers for deliveries to other communities.

Shuttle

Prince of Wales Transportation based in Craig, provides island-wide shuttle services from the ferry terminals to the other communities and island attractions.

Economy

Commercial fishing and related support business comprises the largest portion of Craig's economy.

Notable people

  • Holly Madison (born 1979), model, television personality; one of the stars of the E! channel's The Girls Next Door

Notes

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Further reading

References

  • City of Craig website
  • Craig Tribal Association