[3] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.8 square miles (46 km2), all land.

As of the 2000 United States Census,[5] there were 5,220 people, 1,249 households, and 1,054 families residing in the CDP.

12.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of 2005, the Apache Reservation in which Whiteriver is located showed a decrease from 73% traditional or atheist to 43%.

[8][9] It has repeatedly disciplined and even expelled students who participate in Apache cultural traditions, considering them as Satanism or paganism.

Unlike most climates of its type, the summer drought only covers the first half of the hot season – monsoonal rains arrive in July and peak in August before falling off in September.