Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Seal
Location in the state of Arizona
Arizona's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 15, 1897
Seat	Nogales
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,238.11 sq mi (3,207 km²) 1,237.63 sq mi (3,205 km²) 0.47 sq mi (1 km²), 0.04%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	47,420 38/sq mi (14.7/km²)
Website	www.co.santa-cruz.az.us

Santa Cruz is a county in southern Arizona established in 1899. As of the 2010, its population was 47,420, an increase of 9,039 people since the 2000 census count of 38,381.^[1] The county seat is Nogales.^[2]

Santa Cruz County contains many vineyards.

History

Santa Cruz County, formed on March 15, 1899, out of what was then Pima County, is named after the Santa Cruz River, which was named in the late 17th century by Father Kino. Santa Cruz means "holy cross" in Spanish. After that Father Kino built the famous mission which still stands today at the Tumacácori National Historical Park.^[3][4]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,238.11 square miles (3,206.7 km²), of which 1,237.63 square miles (3,205.4 km²) (or 99.96%) is land and 0.47 square miles (1.2 km²) (or 0.04%) is water.^[5] Although Santa Cruz County is the smallest county in Arizona, it is still larger in area than the national average of 622 square miles (1,610 km²). (See County (United States).)

Major highways

• Interstate 19
• State Route 82
• State Route 83
• State Route 287

Adjacent counties and municipalities

• Pima County, Arizona - west, north
• Cochise County, Arizona - east
• Nogales, Sonora, Mexico - south
• Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico - south
• Sáric, Sonora, Mexico - southwest

National protected areas

• Coronado National Forest (part)
• Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (part)
• Tumacácori National Historical Park

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	4,545		—
1910	6,766		48.9%
1920	12,689		87.5%
1930	9,684		−23.7%
1940	9,482		−2.1%
1950	9,417		−0.7%
1960	10,808		14.8%
1970	13,966		29.2%
1980	20,459		46.5%
1990	29,676		45.1%
2000	38,381		29.3%
2010	47,420		23.6%

2010

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

• 73.5% White
• 0.4% Black
• 0.7% Native American
• 0.5% Asian
• 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 2.0% Two or more races
• 22.9% Other races
• 82.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 38,381 people, 11,809 households, and 9,506 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 13,036 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.00% White, 0.38% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 19.73% from other races, and 2.63% from two or more races. 80.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 79.71% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 19.51% speak English [2].

There were 11,809 households, of which 45.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.30% were married couples living together, 15.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.50% were non-families. 16.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.23 and the average family size was 3.66.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.60% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,710, and the median income for a family was $32,057. Males had a median income of $27,972 versus $21,107 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,278. About 21.40% of families and 24.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.70% of those under age 18 and 23.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of the incorporated areas in Santa Cruz County.

City

• Nogales

Town

• Patagonia

Census-designated places

• Amado
• Elgin
• Rio Rico Northeast
• Rio Rico Northwest
• Rio Rico Southeast
• Rio Rico Southwest
• Sonoita
• Tubac
• Tumacacori-Carmen

Other communities

• Arivaca
• Ruby
• Sasabe

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Cruz County, Arizona

References

1. ^ "[1]." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 5, 2008
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "History: Pima County". Pima County Justice Court (jp.pima.gov). September 27, 2000. http://jp.pima.gov/Pages/history/county.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
4. ^ "Santa Cruz County". Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records: Arizona History and Archives Division (lib.az.us). August 4, 2009. http://www.lib.az.us/archives/county_santa_cruz.cfm. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
5. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce
• County Website

Coordinates: 31°32′16″N 110°49′35″W / 31.53778°N 110.82639°W / 31.53778; -110.82639