Big Lake is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Alaska. With a population of 3,833 people and two associated neighborhoods, Big Lake is the 20th largest community in Alaska.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.20% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Big Lake is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Big Lake has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Big Lake has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Big Lake than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Big Lake may be for you.

Big Lake is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

One downside of living in Big Lake, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 35.83 minutes every day commuting to work.

As is often the case in a small town, Big Lake doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

The percentage of adults in Big Lake who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 19.60% of the adults in Big Lake have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Big Lake in 2022 was $41,948, which is middle income relative to Alaska, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $167,792 for a family of four. However, Big Lake contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Big Lake is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Big Lake home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Big Lake residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Big Lake include Irish, German, English, Scots-Irish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Big Lake is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.