Navajo County is in the northern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 106,717. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Holbrook Holbrook may refer to: Places England *Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village * Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove * Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway *Holbrook, Suffolk, ...

. Navajo County comprises the

Show Low Show Low is a city in Navajo County, Arizona. It lies on the Mogollon Rim in east central Arizona, at an elevation of 6,345 feet (1,934 m). The city was established in 1870 and incorporated in 1953. According to the 2010 census, the populatio ...

, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Navajo County contains parts of the Hopi Indian reservation, the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...

, and

Fort Apache Indian Reservation The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of ...

History

Navajo County was split from

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by par ...

on March 21, 1895. The first county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

was

Commodore Perry Owens Commodore Perry Owens (July 29, 1852 – May 10, 1919) was an American lawman and gunfighter of the Old West. One of his many exploits was the Owens-Blevins Shootout in Arizona Territory during the Pleasant Valley War. Early life Anthony Per ...

, a legendary gunman who had previously served as the sheriff of Apache County. It was the location for many of the events of the

Pleasant Valley War The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud, was a range war fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona in the years 1882–1892. The conflict involved two feuding families, the Grahams an ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water. Navajo County offers not only the

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona ...

, but

Keams Canyon Keams Canyon (Hopi: Pongsikya or Pongsikvi; nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The population was 304 at the 2010 census. Pongsikya is a narrow box canyon that is named after a plant of edible gr ...

, part of the

Petrified Forest National Park Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...

, and one of the largest contiguous

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

forest in North America.

Adjacent counties

– east * Graham County – south *

Gila County Gila County ( ) is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe. Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Gila County contains ...

– southwest *

Coconino County Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai ...

– west *

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 14,746. Its county seat is Monticello, while its most populous city is Blanding. The Utah State ...

– north

Indian reservations

Navajo County has of federally designated

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

within its borders, the third most of any county in the United States (neighboring

and

are first and second). In descending order of territory within the county, the reservations are the

, Hopi Indian Reservation, and

, all of which are partly located within Navajo County.

National protected areas

* Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (part) *

Navajo National Monument Navajo National Monument is a National Monument located within the northwest portion of the Navajo Nation territory in northern Arizona, which was established to preserve three well-preserved cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people: Keet ...

(part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 97,470 people, 30,043 households, and 23,073 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 47,413 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 47.7% Native American, 45.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.9%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.2% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 55.9% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 24.8% reported speaking

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

at home, 5.9% other

Southern Athabaskan languages Southern Athabaskan (also Apachean) is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States (including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah) with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas. The language is spoken to a ...

, 4.7%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, and 3.2%

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United ...

. There were 30,043 households, out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.68. In the county, the population was spread out, with 35.4% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,569, and the median income for a family was $32,409. Males had a median income of $30,509 versus $21,621 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $11,609. About 23.4% of families and 29.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 20.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 107,449 people, 35,658 households, and 25,923 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 56,938 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 49.3% white, 43.4% American Indian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 3.4% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.7% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 12.5% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, 9.3% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and 2.3% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 35,658 households, 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.3% were non-families, and 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.50. The median age was 34.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,774 and the median income for a family was $45,906. Males had a median income of $41,516 versus $28,969 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,745. About 19.1% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the

, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census of religion

Navajo County is among the most religiously diverse places in the United States. A 2020 census by the

Public Religion Research Institute The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics, specializing in the quantitative and qualitative study of politic ...

(unconnected to the official US census) calculates a religious diversity score of 0.876 for Navajo County, where 1 represents complete diversity (each religious group of equal size) and 0 a total lack of diversity. Only three other counties in the US have higher scores, all much more urban than Navajo County.

Politics

Navajo County leans towards the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Although its Native American population makes up nearly half of the county, a demographic that politically favors those of the Democratic Party, the county has a strong

Latter-Day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into sev ...

presence (particularly in population centers such as Snowflake) that normally allows Republican candidates to carry the county by small margins. However, in the 2018 gubernatorial election, the county voted Republican over Democrat by a large margin (56–42%).

Education

School districts that serve the county include: *

Blue Ridge Unified School District The Blue Ridge Unified School District (BRUSD) is the school district for Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona. It operates three distinct schools on two campuses; a high school ( Blue Ridge High School), junior high, and elementary school. All schools in ...

Cedar Unified School District Cedar Unified School District is a school district based in Navajo County of northeastern Arizona. The school district serves some unincorporated areas of Navajo County, including: *Hopi Reservation communities of First Mesa, Hotevilla-Bacavi, ...

* Heber-Overgaard Unified School District * Holbrook Unified School District * Joseph City Unified School District *

Kayenta Unified School District Kayenta Unified School District No. 27 is a school district headquartered in Kayenta, Arizona, located within the Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United ...

Piñon Unified School District Piñon Unified School District #4 is a school district located on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Piñon, Arizona, United States. The district consists of one elementary, one middle, and one high school: Pinon Elementary School, Pinon Accelerat ...

Show Low Unified School District The Show Low Unified School District (SLUSD) is the school district for Show Low, Arizona. The superintendent is Shad Housley. History In 2013 the district leadership asked voters to approve an "override" of 10% of its budget, $1.2 million. The ...

Snowflake Unified School District Snowflake Unified School District 5 is a school district in Navajo County, Arizona. Schools The District includes the following schools: * Snowflake High School (grades 9–12) * Snowflake Junior High (grades 7 and 8) * Snowflake Intermediate ...

Whiteriver Unified School District Whiteriver Unified School District is a school district in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The district serves parts of Navajo County, including the communities of Cibecue, East Fork, and Whiteriver. Service area Young Elementary Scho ...

Winslow Unified School District The Winslow Unified School District is the school district for Winslow, Arizona. It includes three elementary schools (Washington, Jefferson, and Bonnie Brennan); a junior high school; and Winslow High School. The superintendent is Connie Gover. ...

There is a tribal elementary school called Little Singer Community School, affiliated with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant ...

(BIE). Hataalii Yazhi, a

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

, in the 1970s proposed establishing the school so area children did not have to travel far for their education. The school was named after him. The original buildings used two geodesic domes as features. In 2014 the school had 81 students. By 2014 the original campus was described by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

as being in poor repair. In 2004 the school first asked the BIE to get funding for a new building. The current campus had a cost of $28 million and an area of . It uses intersecting circles as an architectural feature. The current building was dedicated in November 2020. It is physically in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

southeast of Birdsprings, and has a postal address of Winslow.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

* U.S. Route 60 * U.S. Route 160 *

U.S. Route 163 U.S. Route 163 (also U.S. Highway 163, US 163) is a U.S. Highway that runs from US 160 northward to US 191 in the U.S. states of Arizona and Utah. The southernmost of its length are within the Navajo Nation. The highway forms part of the Tr ...

U.S. Route 180 U.S. Route 180 is an east–west United States highway. Like many three-digit routes, US 180 no longer meets its "parent", US 80. US 80 was decommissioned west of Mesquite, Texas, and was replaced in Texas by Interstate 20 and Interstate 10 ...

* State Route 73 * State Route 77 * State Route 87 * State Route 98 * State Route 99 * State Route 260 * State Route 264 * State Route 277 * State Route 377

Airports

The following public-use airports are located within the county: * Cibecue Airport (Z95) – Cibecue *

Holbrook Municipal Airport Holbrook Municipal Airport is a public use airport located northeast of the central business district of Holbrook, in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is owned by the City of Holbrook. This airport is included in the National Plan of ...

(P14) –

* Kayenta Airport (0V7) –

Kayenta Kayenta ( nv, ) is a U.S. town which is part of the Navajo Nation and is in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. Established November 13, 1986, the Kayenta Township is the only "township" existing under the laws of the Navajo Nation, making it ...

* Polacca Airport (P10) –

Polacca A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...

Show Low Regional Airport Show Low Regional Airport is east of Show Low, in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is used for general aviation and commercial services provided by Southern Airways Express which is subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air ...

(SOW) –

* Taylor Airport (TYL) – Taylor *

Whiteriver Airport Whiteriver Airport is a public use airport located southwest of the central business district of Whiteriver, in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is owned by the White Mountain Apache Tribe. This airport is included in the National Pla ...

(E24) – Whiteriver * Winslow–Lindbergh Regional Airport (INW) – Winslow

Communities and other places

Cities

(county seat) *

* Winslow

Towns

Pinetop-Lakeside Pinetop–Lakeside is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to 2020 census, the population of the town is 4,557. It was founded in 1984 when the neighboring towns of Pinetop and Lakeside merged. Pinetop–Lakeside is a po ...

Snowflake A snowflake is a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size, and may have amalgamated with others, which falls through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. ...

* Taylor

Census-designated places

* Chilchinbito * Cibecue * Clay Springs * Dilkon * East Fork, Arizona, East Fork * First Mesa, Arizona, First Mesa * Fort Apache, Arizona, Fort Apache * Greasewood, Arizona, Greasewood * Hard Rock, Arizona, Hard Rock * Heber-Overgaard, Arizona, Heber-Overgaard * Hondah, Arizona, Hondah * Hotevilla-Bacavi, Arizona, Hotevilla-Bacavi * Indian Wells, Arizona, Indian Wells * Jeddito, Arizona, Jeddito * Joseph City, Arizona, Joseph City *

* Keams Canyon, Arizona, Keams Canyon * Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona, Kykotsmovi Village * Lake of the Woods, Arizona, Lake of the Woods * Linden, Arizona, Linden * Low Mountain, Arizona, Low Mountain * McNary, Arizona, McNary (''mostly in

'') * North Fork, Arizona, North Fork * Oljato-Monument Valley, Arizona, Oljato-Monument Valley * Pinedale, Arizona, Pinedale * Pinetop Country Club, Arizona, Pinetop Country Club * Pinon, Arizona, Pinon * Rainbow City, Arizona, Rainbow City * Seba Dalkai, Arizona, Seba Dalkai * Second Mesa, Arizona, Second Mesa * Seven Mile, Arizona, Seven Mile * Shongopovi, Arizona, Shongopovi * Shonto, Arizona, Shonto * Shumway, Arizona, Shumway * Sun Valley, Arizona, Sun Valley * Tees Toh, Arizona, Tees Toh * Turkey Creek, Arizona, Turkey Creek * Wagon Wheel, Arizona, Wagon Wheel * White Mountain Lake, Arizona, White Mountain Lake * Whitecone, Arizona, Whitecone * Whiteriver * Winslow West, Arizona, Winslow West (''partially in

'') * Woodruff, Arizona, Woodruff

Other communities

* Birdsprings, Arizona, Birdsprings * Oraibi, Arizona, Oraibi

Native American communities

* Hopi Reservation *

Other places

* Alchesay Flat, a named flat (landform), flat approximately north of Whiteriver along Arizona State Route 73.

Ghost towns

* Brigham City, Arizona, Brigham * Obed, Arizona, Obed * Sunset, Arizona, Sunset * Wilford, Arizona, Wilford * Zeniff, Arizona, Zeniff

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 United States census, 2010 census of Navajo County. † county seat

References

External links

Official county homepage
{{coord, 35, 29, 52, N, 110, 17, 23, W, region:US-AZ_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Navajo County, Arizona, Arizona placenames of Native American origin Populated places established in 1895 1895 establishments in Arizona Territory