At the 2020 census the population was 628,[7] making it the third largest city in the North Slope Borough, up from 556 in 2010.

Wainwright is located on the Chukchi Sea about 72 miles (116 km) southwest of Utqiaġvik.

Wainwright has a dry-winter Arctic climate (Köppen ETw) with temperatures ranging from −56 to 84 °F (−49 to 29 °C).

There is little precipitation, mostly snow; however, the dry winters make the annual snowfall totals more modest than they would otherwise be.

The Chukchi Sea is unfrozen from early July to late September.

This included the native settlement Kugmiut, camps on Kug River, Setorokamiut, Nuklwok, Nutnago and Shinnowok.

The racial makeup of the city was 90.1% Native American, 7.9% White and 1.6% from two or more races.