El Mirage is a city in

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...

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 ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 35,805, up from 31,797 in 2010.

History

The

Hohokam Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...

Native American tribe were the earliest inhabitants of the area that is now El Mirage. The ingenious Hohokam developed an elaborate

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

network using only stone instruments and organized labor. They were commonly known as the "Canal Builders". During the early 1930s,

migrant farm workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

settled in El Mirage on the west bank of the

Agua Fria River The Agua Fria River (Spanish for "cold water") is a long intermittent stream which flows generally south from east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria w ...

. Mexican migrants came to El Mirage to help build the canals and harvest the first crops. Farming and agriculture remain central to El Mirage's economy, but it has witnessed a robust industry growth over the past few decades, emerging as a diverse urban community. The city became incorporated in 1951, and has continued to grow since.

Geography

El Mirage is located along the

and U.S. Route 60 within the northwestern part of the

Phoenix metropolitan area The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city ...

.''Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer'', DeLorme, 4th ed., 2001, p. 57 It is bordered to the east by Youngtown, to the south by

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

, to the northwest by Surprise, and to the northeast by unincorporated Sun City.

Downtown Phoenix Downtown Phoenix is the central business district (CBD) of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is located in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and ...

is to the southeast via US 60. 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 city has a total area of , of which , or 0.56%, are water.

Climate

Demographics

At the 2000 census, there were 7,609 people in 2,121 households, including 1,737 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 3,162 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 66.3% White, 3.3% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 26.2% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 66.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,121 households 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 13.0% of households were one person and 3.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.59 and the average family size was 3.87. The age distribution was 36.8% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% 65 or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median household income was $33,813 and the median family income was $33,468. Males had a median income of $25,176 versus $19,192 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,342. About 12.6% of families and 15.9% 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 14.2% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over. El Mirage is near Luke U.S. Air Force Base, the largest Fighter Pilot Training Base in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and can boast that it has the highest paid city manager per capita in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area

Historic structures of El Mirage

References

Surprise Time Newspaper – City Managers Salary
* William M. Bercu, Ph.D.
"El Mirage, Arizona"
''Salt River Stories'', accessed February 24, 2022,

External links

* * {{authority control Cities in Arizona Cities in Maricopa County, Arizona Phoenix metropolitan area