Nogales, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area
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Santa Cruz is a county in southern Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population is 47,669. The county seat is Nogales. The county was established in 1899. It borders Pima County to the north and west, Cochise County to the east, and the Mexican state of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
to the south. Santa Cruz County includes the Nogales, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Tucson-Nogales, Arizona Combined Statistical Area.


History

Santa Cruz County, formed on March 15, 1899, out of what was then Pima County, is named after the Santa Cruz River. The river originates in the
Canelo Hills The Canelo Hills are a range of low mountains or hills in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The range consists of a series of northwest–southeast trending ridges extending from the Sonoita Creek valley southwest of Sonoita to the Parker Cany ...
in the eastern portion of the county, crosses south into Mexico near the community of Santa Cruz, Sonora and then bends northwards returning into the United States (and Santa Cruz County) east of Nogales. Father Eusebio Kino, an Italian explorer and missionary in the service of the Spanish Empire, named the Santa Cruz River–"
holy cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...
" in Spanish–in the 1690s. In addition, Kino founded several missions to evangelize the different O'odham peoples living along the banks of the Santa Cruz River, including Missions San Cayetano del Tumacácori (1691) and San Gabriel de Guevavi (1691), as well as Los Reyes de Sonoita (1692) near
Sonoita Creek Sonoita Creek is a tributary stream of the Santa Cruz River (Arizona), Santa Cruz River in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It originates near and takes its name from the abandoned Pima people, Pima mission in the high val ...
. Along the river, but outside the boundaries of Santa Cruz County, Kino also founded Mission San Xavier del Bac (1692) near Tucson, Arizona, and Mission Santa Maria del Pilar (1693) in what is now Santa Cruz, Mexico. Kino's San Cayetano and San Gabriel missions were destroyed in the O'odham peoples' 1751 Pima Revolt and rebuilt as Missions Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi (1751), San José de Tumacácori (1753), and San Cayetano de Calabazas (1756). The ruins of all three of these later missions are now protected by Tumacácori National Historical Park. Disease, warfare, overwork, and changes in land ownership during Spanish colonization led to the demographic decline of the O'odham peoples of Santa Cruz County.


Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in Arizona.


Adjacent counties and municipalities

* Pima County–west, north * Cochise County–east * Nogales, Sonora, Mexico–south * Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico–south * Sáric, Sonora, Mexico–south


Major highways

* Interstate 19 * State Route 82 * State Route 83


National protected areas

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


Border crossings

There are three crossings of the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales: the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry (for vehicular and pedestrian traffic); the
Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry The Nogales-Mariposa Arizona Port of Entry opened in 1973 to divert truck traffic away from the busy downtown Grand Avenue border crossing. It connects Arizona State Route 189 directly with Mexican Federal Highway 15D. All commercial traffic en ...
(in the western part of the city, for vehicular and pedestrian traffic); and the Morley Gate Port of Entry (for pedestrians only). Lochiel, a former mining and ranching border town, formerly had a border crossing, but the U.S. government shut the port of entry down in 1983.


Demographics


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,381 people, 11,809 households, and 9,506 families living 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 76.0% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.5%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 19.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 80.8% of the population were Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. 79.7% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 19.5% speak Englishbr>
There were 11,809 households, of which 45.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were Marriage, married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% 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 33.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 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.% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.


2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 47,420 people, 15,437 households, and 11,992 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 18,010 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% black or African American, 22.9% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 82.8% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: * 78.1%
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
* 4.3%
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 **Ger ...
* 3.4% Irish * 3.1% English * 2.3%
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 ...
* 1.8% Italian Of the 15,437 households, 45.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.3% were non-families, and 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.51. The median age was 35.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,519 and the median income for a family was $40,933. Males had a median income of $30,666 versus $25,135 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,209. About 20.6% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.8% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.


Communities


Cities

* Nogales (county seat)


Towns

* Patagonia


Census designated places

* Amado * Beyerville * Elgin * Kino Springs * Rio Rico *
Sonoita Sonoita (; ood, Ṣon ʼOidag) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 818 at the 2010 census. The origin of the name of the CDP is the O'odham ''Ṣon ʼOidag'', which may be best t ...
*
Tubac Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...
* Tumacacori-Carmen


Unincorporated communities

* Harshaw * Oro Blanco *
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
* Lochiel * Trench Camp * Casa Piedra * Madera Canyon * Washington Camp


Ghost Towns

*
Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
* Canelo * Calabasas * Duquesne * Fort Buchanan * Harshaw * Lochiel * Oro Blanco * Ruby


Education

School districts include: K-12: *
Nogales Unified School District The Nogales Unified School District is the school district for the town of Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogale ...
*
Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District {{Short description, School district in Santa Cruz County, Arizona The Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District #35 (SCVUSD) is a school district based in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The students enrolled in the district reside in Rio Rico, Tumacá ...
Secondary: * Patagonia Union High School District Elementary: * Patagonia Elementary District *
Santa Cruz Elementary District Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
*
Sonoita Elementary District Sonoita (; ood, Ṣon ʼOidag) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 818 at the 2010 census. The origin of the name of the CDP is the O'odham ''Ṣon ʼOidag'', which may be best t ...


County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Santa Cruz County. † county seat


Politics

Owing to its border location and Hispanic majority population, Santa Cruz is a strongly Democratic county. The last Republican to win the county was
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
in 1988, and although the Republicans won the county in six consecutive election from 1968 to 1988, three of these wins were by very narrow margins. Following the trends seen in majority Hispanic counties across the United States, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump with 67.1% of the popular vote in the county, a slightly lower margin than Hillary Clinton's 71.1% vote share in 2016. Despite this rightward shift in the vote share, Santa Cruz County remains as the most Democratic-leaning county in Arizona.


Economy

Because it is the smallest County, Santa Cruz County's economic activity is also smaller. Its agriculture consists primarily of forage/ hay, and the cattle products raised on that pasture and hay are almost 100% of farm products annually.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Cruz County, Arizona This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude ...


References


External links


Nogales Chamber of Commerce Website

County Website

Geologic Map of the Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
U.S. Geological Survey {{coord, 31, 32, N, 110, 50, W, region:US-AZ_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1899 establishments in Arizona Territory Populated places established in 1899 Hispanic and Latino American culture in Arizona