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.

A relatively large number of people in Big Lake telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 25.20% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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 destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Big Lake has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Big Lake a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

In Big Lake, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 35.83 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Being a small town, Big Lake does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

In terms of college education, Big Lake is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 19.60% of adults 25 and older 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.