Pima County, Arizona

Pima County, Arizona
Pima County Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona
Seal
Location in the state of Arizona
Arizona's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 9, 1864
Seat	Tucson
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	9,188.83 sq mi (23,799 km²) 9,186.27 sq mi (23,792 km²) 2.57 sq mi (7 km²), 0.03%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	980,263 107/sq mi (41.2/km²)
Website	www.pima.gov

Pima County Fair, 2007

Pima County (pronounced /ˈpiːmə/) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. The county is named after the Pima American Indian tribe which is indigenous to the area. The population was 980,263 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Tucson, where nearly all of the population is centered.

Pima County contains parts of the Tohono O'odham Nation, as well as all of the San Xavier Indian Reservation, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument and Saguaro National Park.

The vast majority of the county population lies in and around the city of Tucson (2005 city population: 529,770), filling much of the eastern part of the county with urban development. Tucson, Arizona's second largest city, is a major commercial and academic center. Other urban areas include the Tucson suburbs of Oro Valley (population 39,400), Marana (population 26,725), Sahuarita (population 25,259), and South Tucson (population 5,630), a large ring of unincorporated urban development, and the growing satellite town Green Valley. The rest of the county is sparsely populated; the largest towns are Sells, the capital of the Tohono O'odham Nation, and Ajo in the far western region of the county.

History

Pima County, one of the four original counties in Arizona, was created by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature with land acquired through the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in 1853. The original county consisted of all of Arizona Territory east of longitude 113° 20' and south of the Gila River. Soon thereafter, the counties of Cochise, Graham and Santa Cruz were carved from the original Pima County.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 9,188.83 square miles (23,799.0 km²), of which 9,186.27 square miles (23,792.3 km²) (or 99.97%) is land and 2.57 square miles (6.7 km²) (or 0.03%) is water.

Topographic features

• Mountains of Pima County
• Fresnal Canyon

Major highways

• Interstate 10
• Interstate 19
• State Route 79
• State Route 83
• State Route 85
• State Route 86
• State Route 210

Adjacent counties and municipios

• Yuma County, Arizona – west
• Maricopa County, Arizona – north
• Pinal County, Arizona – north
• Graham County, Arizona – northeast
• Cochise County, Arizona – east
• Santa Cruz County, Arizona – southeast
• Altar, Sonora, Mexico – south
• Caborca, Sonora, Mexico – south
• Plutarco Elías Calles, Sonora, Mexico – south
• Sáric, Sonora, Mexico – south

National protected areas

• Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
• Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Coronado National Forest (part)
• Ironwood Forest National Monument (part)
• Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (part)
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
• Saguaro National Park

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	5,716		—
1880	17,006		197.5%
1890	12,673		−25.5%
1900	14,689		15.9%
1910	22,818		55.3%
1920	34,680		52.0%
1930	55,676		60.5%
1940	72,838		30.8%
1950	141,216		93.9%
1960	265,660		88.1%
1970	351,667		32.4%
1980	531,443		51.1%
1990	666,880		25.5%
2000	843,746		26.5%
2010	980,263		16.2%

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

• 74.3% White
• 3.5% Black
• 3.3% Native American
• 2.6% Asian
• 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 3.7% Two or more races
• 12.4% Other races
• 34.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 843,746 people, 332,350 households, and 212,039 families residing in the county. The population density was 92 people per square mile (35/km²). There were 366,737 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.07% White, 3.03% Black or African American, 3.22% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.30% from other races, and 3.21% from two or more races. 29.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.80% reported speaking Spanish at home [1].

There were 332,350 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,758, and the median income for a family was $44,446. Males had a median income of $32,156 versus $24,959 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,785. About 10.50% of families and 14.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of the incorporated and unincorporated cities and towns in Pima County. Also shown are the borders for the Indian Reservations in the County.

Astronaut photo of the open-pit copper mines adjacent to Green Valley, 2010. Note that north is to the left.

Cities: South Tucson Tucson Towns: Marana Oro Valley Sahuarita Other communities: Arivaca Kentucky Camp Lukeville Redington Rillito Sasabe Summerhaven Why Indian reservations: Pascua Yaqui San Xavier Tohono O'odham (part)

Census-designated places: Ajo Avra Valley Casas Adobes Catalina Catalina Foothills Corona de Tucson Drexel Heights Drexel-Alvernon East Sahuarita Flowing Wells Green Valley Littletown

Picture Rocks Pisinemo Santa Rosa Sells Summit Tanque Verde Three Points Tortolita Tucson Estates Vail Valencia West

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pima County, Arizona

Tourist attractions

• Pima County Fair
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Old Tucson
• Arizona Historical Society (museum)
• Tucson Gem & Mineral Show
• Titan Missile Museum
• Biosphere 2
• Mission San Xavier del Bac

External links

• Official website