Arizona City is an unincorporated

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in southwestern

Pinal County 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, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was est ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. It is located near the junction of

Interstate 8 Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, ...

and

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

at the midpoint between Phoenix and

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, approximately from the downtown of both cities. The population was 10,475 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. It is estimated to be approximately 11,030 as of a 2017 U.S. Census estimate. Arizona City is a rural, primarily residential community that features a 48-acre (19 ha) man-made lake These attributes make the community a popular snowbird destination, with the population increasing by as much as 5,000 people in the winter months to reach the census figure of 11,030. Most recently after the last Census, many full-time residents have relocated to the unincorporate town.

History

The area around what is now known as Arizona City was used as a resting area for

Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

's expedition party after they emerged from

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

land in 1775. The area is considered an official part of the

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco.

. This historic trail begins in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de 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 divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, Mexico, and ends at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. The unincorporated census-designated place was founded in 1959 when Jack McRae, president of the Arizona City Development Corporation, purchased and developed of land in the Santa Cruz Valley in the area that would eventually grow to become the 6.2 square-mile modern day townsite. The location was selected because of the abundance of deep water from the Santa Cruz River found in the valley. At the time, the water was considered some of the purest in Arizona; every 14 days samples were sent to the state

Health Department A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...

and would come back consistently rated 100% pure. As the community grew, a Contracted United States Post Office with Free E-P.O Box was established on April 1, 1962, and Arizona City began appearing on

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with a di ...

road atlases in 1963. It is uncertain how the name of the community was chosen. Many attempts have been made to establish another form of mail delivery and do away with the outdated method of Free E-P.O Box, last vote being held several years ago (which had originally passed) but a re-vote was conducted in winter when part-time residence (winter visitors) returned and it was rejected. Many new full-time families have located in recent years (approximately 2018-2023) and the current method is inadequate. It has negatively affected residents for decades. USPS does not deliver to homes and is a contracted office that holds the bid. Petitions have been established on change.org to establish curbside mail delivery as surrounding areas receive. Many residents are unhappy with the current method. https://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_city_independent/news/some-az-city-residents-unhappy-with-post-office/article_acac071f-d3c7-58cf-aadf-321b2ad9e7a3.html From time to time, most recently in 2007, attempts have been made to incorporate as a municipality, but they have so far always been defeated at the ballot box, except for the first effort in the early 1980s, which succeeded at the ballot box but was overturned in court because there were not enough residents at that time to incorporate. The area in and around Arizona City contained several of the 272 concrete Corona Satellite Calibration Targets, which were used to calibrate cameras on the satellites in the Corona Satellite Program that lasted from 1959 to 1972. These satellites were used for espionage on the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(USSR) and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Many of these have since been removed, but one still exists at the corner of West Alsdorf Road and South Sunland Gin Road in the center of the community.

Geography

Arizona City is located at (32.751641, −111.679283). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (1.29%) is water. The CDP is approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

and located in an area of Pinal County known as the Santa Cruz Flats. According to the

Arizona Geological Survey The Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) was established by the Arizona Legislature to investigate and describe Arizona's geology and to educate and inform the public regarding its geologic setting. Each year since 1915, AZGS has released geologic ...

, the valley floor surrounding Arizona City and nearby Eloy has lowered by more than in the past 50 years due to rapid depletion of the groundwater

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

s underneath the region. In 2017, a new

earth fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

approximately long and wide opened up just south of Arizona City, another consequence caused by the rapid consumption of groundwater. Arizona City itself is mostly flat, lying in the Santa Cruz Valley in the center of three low mountain ranges; the Sawtooth Mountains to the south, the Picacho Mountains to the east, and the Casa Grande Mountains to the north. Picacho Peak, a prominent peak with a summit elevation of , is located approximately to the southeast adjacent to Interstate 10. Directly to the west of the CDP is the expansive Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, which stretches south to the

international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Climate

Arizona City has a hot desert climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

BWh), normal for the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

. The community experiences long, extremely hot summers and mild winters. The area averages only of annual rainfall. Winter months are defined by frequent

sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

and consist of mild daytime highs between . At nighttime, the temperature drops rapidly, with lows averaging between . Nighttime lows at or below the

freezing Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...

mark are not uncommon. During the winter, an occasional

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

will pass through the area sometimes containing a brief shower. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Arizona City was . During the entirety of the summer and the second half of May, high temperatures are usually between , with the occasional

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

spiking daytime high temperatures above . The highest temperature ever recorded in Arizona City was . Along with the rest of Arizona, the community is affected by the North American Monsoon during summer, which brings high winds and occasional heavy rain. A large portion of the community is located in Pinal County's

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

, and is very susceptible to

flash flooding A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash flo ...

during heavy monsoon rains. Due to extensive farmland in the valley, the area is also very prone to

dust storms A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transported ...

, which can occur any month of the year during windy conditions.

Demographics

Arizona City first appeared on the 1990 U.S. Census as a census-designated place (CDP). The 2010 Census determined that Arizona City had a population of 10,475, a 126% increase from the 2000 Census figure of 4,385. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 50.3% non-

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

white, 2.1% black or

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 5.3% Native American, 0.3%

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 40.9% Hispanic. Population density was 1,713.6 people per square mile. There were 4,296 housing units, with an average of 2.56 persons per household. 62.3% of households were owner-occupied, and the median value of these housing units was $99,300. The median gross rent in Arizona City was $844 per month. 7.5% of the population was under 5 years of age, 26.5% of the population was between the ages of 5 and 18, and 18.8% of the population was 65 or older. 7.4% of the Arizona City's population was born in a country other than the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Only 13.4% of the population in Arizona City has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

or higher, although 83.4% of the population has at least a

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

. The mean travel time to work was 27.7 minutes, and the

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $42,853, with 20.4% of the population living below the

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

line.

Economy

Historically, Arizona City's only employers have been the farms that surround the area and the few service jobs that exist within the townsite. However, being located in the middle of the

Arizona Sun Corridor The Arizona Sun Corridor, shortened Sun Corridor, is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of Arizona - comprising approximately 85 percent of the state's population. The Sun Corridor is comparable to Indiana ...

region, Arizona City's economy may soon be impacted by several large proposed attractions and factories that will potentially add 30,000 new jobs and attract up to 4 million visitors annually. One of these developments is the Dreamport Villages project, which is a $4 billion destination resort that will be located north of Arizona City. This project will contain an

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

venue,

water parks A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, ...

, restaurants, retail space, a residential area, and a fully themed

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

comparable to

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. Another approved project is the Attesa Motorsports Park, which will be a 2,360-acre (955 ha)

motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

complex featuring two road courses, a driver experience center, and an event center. This project alone is expected to create more than 10,000 permanent jobs and will be located to the northwest of Arizona City, adjacent to Interstate 8. Phoenixmart was promised to boost the economy, the project never came to fruition and the site is just an empty building.

Lucid Motors Lucid Group, Inc., is an American automotive and technology company that manufactures electric vehicles and supplies advanced electric vehicle powertrain systems. The company is headquartered in Newark, California. In September 2021, the compa ...

, a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

electric car company startup, has confirmed that it will build a $700 million

electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...

manufacturing plant in the nearby city of Casa Grande that will employ 2,000 workers by 2022. Services in the area are very limited and travel outside of area is required for basic necessities (30 minutes - 1 Hour) to surrounding cities. USPS in the area is a contracted post office which offers free e PO box to residents since they do not service the area (curbside delivery or home delivery) as surrounding areas do. Petitions have been established to change the current inefficient and inadequate method.

Infrastructure

Transportation

and transcontinental

intersect only north of Arizona City, providing freeway access to major Arizona cities such as Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma, as well as San Diego and Los Angeles in California. Both freeways can be accessed via Sunland Gin Road. The main east–west surface street through the CDP is Battaglia Drive, which has an intersection with the main north–south street, Sunland Gin Road, at the north end of Arizona City at the community's only signalized intersection. Other main north–south surface streets in the community include Henness Road, Lamb Road, and Overfield Road. Major east-west surface streets include Alsdorf Road and Milligan Road. The closest major airports to Arizona City are

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

and

Tucson International Airport Tucson International Airport is a civil-military airport owned by the City of Tucson south of downtown Tucson, in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is the second busiest airport in Arizona, after Phoenix Sky Harbor International Air ...

. Casa Grande Shuttle provides an

airport shuttle An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus, alternatively simply airport shuttle or shuttle bus is a bus designed for transport of passengers to and from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and in ...

to Sky Harbor.

Attractions

* Arizona City Golf Course, opened in 1963, is an 18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

located within Arizona City that includes a clubhouse, pro shop, and restaurant. However, the golf course has recently closed. It did reopen November 2021 * Paradise Lake, a 48-acre (19 ha) man-made residential lake, is located in the southern portion of Arizona City and can be used for sailing and fishing. * Skydive Arizona, the world's largest

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

center, is located to the northeast. *

Picacho Peak State Park Picacho Peak State Park is a state park surrounding Picacho Peak in Picacho, Arizona. The park is located between Casa Grande and Tucson near Interstate 10 in Pinal County. Its centerpiece spire is visible from downtown Tucson, a distance of . ...

is located approximately east of Arizona City on Interstate 10 and features several miles of hiking trails,

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

, and picnic areas. *

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Casa Grande Ruins National Monument ( or ''Sivan Vahki'') is a United States national monument preserving a group of Classic Period () Hohokam structures in Coolidge, Arizona, northeast of Casa Grande. History of the area The national mon ...

is located north of the CDP and features well-preserved

Hohokam Hohokam was a culture in the Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest, North American Southwest in what is now part of south-central Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 CE, with cultural p ...

ruins and public tours during certain times of the year.

Events

Every February, the community is host to the Arizona City Daze, which is a

street festival A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

featuring vendor booths selling food and merchandise, a car show, a parade,

carnival rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...

, and live entertainment. This annual event typically takes place on the final weekend of February.

Education

It is within Toltec Elementary School District and the

Casa Grande Union High School District The Casa Grande Union High School District is the high school district for Casa Grande, Arizona Casa Grande (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix ...

. The only education facility located in the community is Arizona City Elementary School, operated by the Toltec School District. The nearest high schools are located in Casa Grande and accept students from Arizona Elementary School. * Arizona City Elementary School, a K–8 school located in the western part of the Arizona City. *

Casa Grande Union High School Casa Grande High School is a high school in Casa Grande, Arizona. It is part of the Casa Grande Union High School District. The original high school and gym, now used as the Casa Grande City Hall, are listed on the National Register of Historic ...

, a high school located north in Casa Grande. *

Vista Grande High School Vista Grande High School is a high school in Casa Grande, Arizona started in 2009. It is part of the Casa Grande Union High School District. It was opened to relieve continuing enrollment growth at Casa Grande Union High School, which had swelle ...

, a high school located north in Casa Grande.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pinal County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona