Pinal County, Arizona

Pinal County
Pinal County
County
	Second Pinal County Courthouse in Florence
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Arizona
	Arizona's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°59′13″N 111°19′38″W / 32.98694°N 111.32722°W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Founded	February 1, 1875
Named for	Pinal Peak
Seat	Florence
Largest municipality	San Tan Valley; Maricopa (incorporated)
Area
• Total	5,374 sq mi (13,920 km2)
• Land	5,366 sq mi (13,900 km2)
• Water	8.6 sq mi (22 km2) 0.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	425,264
• Estimate (2023)	484,239
• Density	79/sq mi (31/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
Congressional districts	2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th
Website	www.pinalcountyaz.gov

Pinal County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264,^[2] making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was founded in 1875.

Pinal County contains parts of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, as well as all of the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Pinal County is included in the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. Suburban growth southward from greater Phoenix has begun to spread into the county's northern parts; similarly, growth northward from Tucson is spreading into the county's southern portions. Pinal County has five cities: Maricopa, Casa Grande, Apache Junction, Eloy, and Coolidge. There are also many unincorporated areas, which have shown accelerated growth patterns in recent years; such suburban development is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

History

Pinal County was carved out of neighboring Maricopa County and Pima County on February 1, 1875, during the Eighth Legislature. In the August 18, 1899, issue of The Arizona Magazine, the name "Pinal" is said to come from the pine-clad Pinal Mountains.^[3] Pinal County was the second-fastest-growing county in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010.^[4]

In 2010, CNN Money named Pinal County as the second fastest growing county in the USA.^[5]

Pinal County has been identified as the second riskiest county for combined impacts of climate change from 2040 to 2060, largely due to high risks of extreme heat, fire hazard and economic and crop damages.^[6]

Geography

Spring wildflowers in the Sonoran Desert National Monument

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,374 square miles (13,920 km²), of which 5,366 square miles (13,900 km²) is land and 8.6 square miles (22 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[7]

Mountain ranges

Adjacent counties

Maricopa County – west, north
Gila County – north
Graham County – east
Pima County – south

Major highways

National protected areas

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Coronado National Forest (part)
Hohokam Pima National Monument
Ironwood Forest National Monument (part)
Sonoran Desert National Monument (part)
Tonto National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	3,044		—
1890	4,251		39.7%
1900	7,779		83.0%
1910	9,045		16.3%
1920	16,130		78.3%
1930	22,081		36.9%
1940	28,841		30.6%
1950	43,191		49.8%
1960	62,673		45.1%
1970	67,916		8.4%
1980	90,918		33.9%
1990	116,379		28.0%
2000	179,727		54.4%
2010	375,770		109.1%
2020	425,264		13.2%
2023 (est.)	484,239	^[8]	13.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790–1960^[10] 1900–1990^[11] 1990–2000^[12] 2010–2020^[2]

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 375,770 people, 125,590 households, and 92,157 families living in the county.^[13] The population density was 70.0 inhabitants per square mile (27.0 inhabitants/km²). There were 159,222 housing units at an average density of 29.7 units per square mile (11.5 units/km²).^[14] The racial makeup of the county was 72.4% white, 5.6% American Indian, 4.6% black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.4% Pacific islander, 11.5% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 28.5% of the population.^[13] In terms of ancestry, 16.9% were German, 10.6% were Irish, 9.5% were English, and 2.8% were American.^[15]

Of the 125,590 households, 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.6% were non-families, and 20.5% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age was 35.3 years.^[13]

The median household income was $51,310 and the median family income was $56,299. Males had a median income of $45,082 versus $34,785 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,716. About 10.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.^[16]

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 179,727 people, 61,364 households, and 45,225 families living in the county. The population density was 34 inhabitants per square mile (13 inhabitants/km²). There were 81,154 housing units at an average density of 15 units per square mile (5.8 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.4% White, 2.8% Black or African American, 7.8% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 15.7% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. 29.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.9% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.4% speak O'odham and <0.1% speak Apache.^[17]

Of the 61,364 households 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 21.1% of households were one person and 9.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.09.

The age distribution was 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males.

The median household income was $35,856 and the median family income was $39,548. Males had a median income of $31,544 versus $23,726 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,025. About 12.1% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty threshold, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

During the 20th century, Pinal was very much a bellwether county in U.S. presidential elections, having supported the winning candidate in every election between Arizona's statehood in 1912 and 2004 except for that of 1968, when Hubert Humphrey won the county by 3.2 percentage points but lost to Richard M. Nixon. As a result of the urban sprawl from Phoenix spreading into the county, a major political reversal has taken place between it and neighboring Maricopa County since the turn of the millennium. Maricopa County is now becoming more progressive as is the trend of most largely populated city centers in America. Pinal voters currently still trend more conservative for now. Donald Trump carried the county by the second-largest margin for a Republican since statehood.

United States presidential election results for Pinal County, Arizona^[18]^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	107,077	57.72%	75,106	40.48%	3,342	1.80%
2016	72,819	56.21%	47,892	36.97%	8,835	6.82%
2012	62,079	57.12%	44,306	40.77%	2,297	2.11%
2008	59,421	56.38%	44,254	41.99%	1,723	1.63%
2004	37,006	57.27%	27,252	42.17%	364	0.56%
2000	20,122	48.73%	19,650	47.59%	1,518	3.68%
1996	13,034	35.33%	19,579	53.07%	4,282	11.61%
1992	11,669	31.76%	15,468	42.10%	9,602	26.14%
1988	14,966	51.29%	13,850	47.46%	364	1.25%
1984	16,464	57.53%	11,923	41.66%	232	0.81%
1980	12,195	52.43%	9,207	39.59%	1,856	7.98%
1976	9,354	45.40%	10,595	51.42%	655	3.18%
1972	10,584	60.28%	6,404	36.47%	571	3.25%
1968	6,883	42.37%	7,409	45.61%	1,954	12.03%
1964	6,956	41.23%	9,911	58.74%	5	0.03%
1960	6,441	47.07%	7,232	52.85%	11	0.08%
1956	5,762	53.15%	5,063	46.70%	17	0.16%
1952	4,985	52.44%	4,522	47.56%	0	0.00%
1948	2,232	37.91%	3,572	60.68%	83	1.41%
1944	1,909	38.51%	3,026	61.04%	22	0.44%
1940	1,996	31.05%	4,411	68.61%	22	0.34%
1936	1,216	24.98%	3,498	71.86%	154	3.16%
1932	1,000	23.90%	3,137	74.98%	47	1.12%
1928	1,631	53.41%	1,419	46.46%	4	0.13%
1924	1,075	40.86%	988	37.55%	568	21.59%
1920	1,493	54.15%	1,264	45.85%	0	0.00%
1916	855	39.24%	1,232	56.54%	92	4.22%
1912	80	9.94%	352	43.73%	373	46.34%

Government

Salaries for county elected officials are set by the Arizona Revised Statutes. All county elected officials except the Sheriff (Mark Lamb as of 2017) and the County Attorney make a salary of $63,800, along with county benefits and compulsory participation in the Arizona State Elected Official Retirement Plan.^[20] In 2020, the Republican Party won complete control of the Board of Supervisors. In 2022, the Arizona Supreme Court deemed their Road Improvement Tax (passed in 2018) as illegal due to the tax only applied to purchases under $10,000. In 2022, the county's elections department came under intense scrutiny following several mistakes in the primary election. At the time, the Elections Department had only two full-time employees. The Board of Supervisors found themselves being accused of not properly funding the Elections Department.

Economy

CoreCivic, while still known as Corrections Corporation of America, operated the privately owned Saguaro Correctional Center.^[21] located in Eloy in Pinal County,^[22] It is paid by the state of Hawaii to house the majority of Hawaii's male prison inmate population.^[21]^{[dead link]}

Communities

Native copper with cuprite from the Ray Mine near Kearny

Cities

Apache Junction (partially in Maricopa County)
Casa Grande
Coolidge
Eloy
Maricopa

Towns

Florence (county seat)
Hayden (partially in Gila County)
Kearny
Mammoth
Marana (mostly in Pima County)
Queen Creek (partially in Maricopa County)
Superior
Winkelman (partially in Gila County)

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Pinal County.^[23] † county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Population (2020 Census)	Municipal type	Incorporated
1	San Tan Valley	99,894	CDP
2	Queen Creek (Mostly in Maricopa County)	59,519	Town	1990
3	Maricopa	58,125	City	2003
4	Casa Grande	53,658	City	1879 (founded)
5	Marana (mostly in Pima County)	51,908	Town	1977
6	Apache Junction (partially in Maricopa County)	38,499	City	1978
7	† Florence	26,785	Town	1900^[24]
8	Eloy	15,635	City	1949
9	Coolidge	13,218	City	1945
10	Saddlebrooke	12,574	CDP
11	Gold Canyon	11,404	CDP
12	Arizona City	9,868	CDP
13	San Manuel	3,692	CDP
14	Oracle	3,656	CDP
15	Superior	3,319	Town	1976
16	Kearny	2,261	Town	1959
17	Sacaton	1,824	CDP
18	Mammoth	1,759	Town	1958
19	Dudleyville	1,068	CDP
20	Casa Blanca	1,004	CDP
21	Queen Valley	566	CDP
22	Stanfield	515	CDP