thumb|Pima County Fair, 2007

Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 counties in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population is centered. The county is named after the Pima Native Americans, also known as Akimel O'odham, who are indigenous to this area.

Pima County includes the entirety of the Tucson Metropolitan Statistical Area, and it is the third largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States.

Pima County contains parts of the Tohono O'odham Nation, as well as all of the San Xavier Indian Reservation, the Pascua Yaqui 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, filling much of the eastern part of the county with urban development. As Arizona's second-largest city, Tucson is a major commercial and academic center. Other urban areas include the Tucson suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson, and 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 county's far western region.

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 United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.02%) is water.

Topographic features

  • Mountains of Pima County
  • Fresnal Canyon

Major highways

  • 20px Interstate 10
  • 20px Interstate 19
  • 20px Historic U.S. Route 80
  • 20px State Route 77
  • 20px State Route 83
  • 20px State Route 85
  • 20px State Route 86
  • 25px State Route 210
  • 25px State Route 989

Adjacent counties and municipalities

  • Yuma County – west
  • Maricopa County – north
  • Pinal County – north
  • Graham County – northeast
  • Cochise County – east
  • Santa Cruz County – southeast east and south
  • Altar, Sonora, Mexico – south
  • Caborca, Sonora, Mexico – south
  • General 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)
  • alt=Official Pima County Logo|thumb|Old Pima County Courthouse Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (part)
  • Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
  • Saguaro National Park

Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) is Pima County's plan for desert conservation. The SDCP addresses natural and cultural resources, ranches, endangered species compliance and wildlife corridors.

Demographics

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Communities

thumb|right|300px|Map of the [[municipality|incorporated and unincorporated cities and towns in Pima County. Also shown are the borders for the Indian Reservations in the county.]]

thumb|Astronaut photo of the open-pit copper mines adjacent to [[Green Valley, Arizona|Green Valley, 2010. North is to the left. ]]

Cities

  • South Tucson
  • Tucson (county seat)

Towns

  • Marana (partially in Pinal County)
  • Oro Valley
  • Sahuarita

Census-designated places

  • Ajo
  • Ak Chin
  • Ali Chuk
  • Ali Chukson
  • Ali Molina
  • Anegam
  • Arivaca
  • Arivaca Junction
  • Avra Valley
  • Casas Adobes
  • Catalina
  • Catalina Foothills
  • Charco
  • Chiawuli Tak
  • Comobabi
  • Corona de Tucson
  • Cowlic
  • Drexel Heights
  • Elephant Head
  • Flowing Wells
  • Green Valley
  • Gu Oidak
  • Haivana Nakya
  • J-Six Ranchettes
  • Kleindale
  • Ko Vaya
  • Littletown (former)
  • Maish Vaya
  • Nelson
  • Nolic
  • Picture Rocks
  • Pimaco Two (former)
  • Pisinemo
  • Rillito
  • Rincon Valley
  • San Miguel
  • Santa Rosa
  • Sells
  • South Komelik
  • Summerhaven
  • Summit
  • Tanque Verde
  • Three Points
  • Topawa
  • Tucson Estates
  • Tucson Mountains
  • Vail
  • Valencia West
  • Ventana
  • Wahak Hotrontk
  • Why
  • Willow Canyon

Indian communities

  • Pascua Yaqui
  • San Xavier
  • Tohono O'odham (part)

Other communities

  • Drexel-Alvernon
  • East Sahuarita
  • Kentucky Camp
  • Lukeville
  • Redington
  • Sasabe
  • Tortolita

Ghost towns

  • Achi
  • Ahan Owuch
  • Ak Chut Vaya
  • Allen
  • Cerro Colorado
  • Helvetia
  • Hahuul Kawuch Vay, Arizona
  • Kentucky
  • Pantano
  • Redington
  • San Rafael
  • Total Wreck
  • Twin Buttes
  • List of ghost towns in Arizona

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Pima County.

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Rank

!City/Town/etc.

!Population (2020 Census)

!Municipal type

!Incorporated

|- style="background:#ffff54;"

| 1

| † Tucson

| 542,629

| City

| 1775

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 2

| Casas Adobes

| 70,973

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 3

| Catalina Foothills

| 52,401

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#bfb;"

| 4

| Marana

| 51,908

| Town

| 1977

|- style="background:#bfb;"

| 5

| Oro Valley

| 47,070

| Town

| 1974

|- style="background:#bfb;"

| 6

| Sahuarita

| 34,134

| Town

| 1994

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 7

| Drexel Heights

| 27,523

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 8

| Green Valley

| 22,616

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 9

| Tanque Verde

| 16,250

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 10

| Flowing Wells

| 15,657

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 11

| Valencia West

| 14,101

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 12

| Vail

| 13,604

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 13

| Tucson Estates

| 12,069

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 14

| Tucson Mountains

| 10,862

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 15

| Picture Rocks

| 9,551

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 16

| Corona de Tucson

| 9,240

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 17

| Catalina

| 7,551

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 18

| Rincon Valley

| 5,612

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 19

| Avra Valley

| 5,569

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 20

| Three Points

| 5,184

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 21

| Summit

| 4,724

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#ffff54;"

| 22

| South Tucson

| 4,613

| City

| 1940

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 23

| Ajo

| 3,039

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 24

| Sells

| 2,121

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 25

| Arivaca Junction

| 970

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 26

| J-Six Ranchettes

| 647

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 27

| Arivaca

| 623

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 28

| Elephant Head

| 588

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 29

| Santa Rosa

| 474

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 30

| Pisinemo

| 359

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 31

| Nelson

| 249

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 32

| Topawa

| 233

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 33

| San Miguel

| 205

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 34

| South Komelik

| 176

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 35

| Kleindale

| 165

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 36

| Anegam

| 149

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 37

| Maish Vaya

| 129

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 38

| Gu Oidak

| 126

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 39

| Why

| 122

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 40

| Ali Chuk

| 119

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 41

| Ali Chukson

| 113

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 42

| Cowlic

| 105

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 43

| Rillito

| 94

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 44

| Wahak Hotrontk

| 88

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 45

| Haivana Nakya

| 72

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 46

| Summerhaven

| 71

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 47

| Ali Molina

| 61

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 48

| Ventana

| 52

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 49

| Ak Chin

| 50

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 50

| Chiawuli Tak

| 48

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 51

| Comobabi

| 44

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 52

| Ko Vaya

| 43

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 53

| Charco

| 27

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 54

| Nolic

| 12

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 55

| Willow Canyon

| 2

| CDP

|

|}

Education

School districts with territory in the county, no matter how slight (even if the schools and administration are in other counties), include:

Unified:

  • Ajo Unified School District
  • Amphitheater Unified School District
  • Catalina Foothills Unified School District
  • Flowing Wells Unified School District
  • Indian Oasis-Baboquivari Unified School District
  • Marana Unified School District
  • Sahuarita Unified School District
  • Sunnyside Unified School District
  • Tanque Verde Unified School District
  • Tucson Unified School District
  • Vail Unified School District

Elementary:

  • Altar Valley Elementary School District
  • Continental Elementary School District
  • Empire Elementary School District
  • Redington Elementary School District
  • San Fernando Elementary School District

Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind is based in Tucson.

Tourist attractions

Annual events

  • Pima County Fair

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

Tucson Rodeo

Locations of interest

  • Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
  • Old Tucson Studios
  • Arizona Historical Society (museum)
  • Tucson Gem & Mineral Show
  • Titan Missile Museum
  • Pima Air and Space Museum
  • Mission San Xavier del Bac

County-Designated Historic Landmarks

  • Ferguson House, Hacienda Del Bosquito, Desert Treasures, Designated 2018
  • Harrenstein House, Designated 2018
  • Viewpoint, Christina and Earl J. Johnson House, Designated 2021
  • Jacobson House, Designated 2022

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Pima County, Arizona
  • Pima County Sheriff's Department
  • John G.F. Speiden - Jay Six Ranch
  • Federal Correctional Complex, Tucson

Notes

References

  • Official website
  • Pima County Government Departments