Gisela ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

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

Gila County Gila County ( ) is a county 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 which is incl ...

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. The population was 570 at the 2010 census. Gisela was named after the heroine in the book ''Countess Gisela'' by E. Marlitt. The town schoolteacher was reading the book to her students when she was asked by her husband, the postmaster, to help name the little settlement. She asked the school children what names they liked, and they voted to name their new town Gisela. The students did not know how to pronounce the name correctly, so they called it .

Geography

Gisela is located in northwestern Gila County at (34.101809, -111.285194). It is east of

Arizona State Route 87 State Route 87 (SR 87) is a north–south highway that travels from Interstate 10 in Arizona, I-10 near Picacho, Arizona, Picacho northward to Arizona State Route 264, State Route 264 near Second Mesa, Arizona, Second Mesa. Route description ...

, the Beeline Highway, and by road south of Payson. 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 Gisela CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.7%, is water. Tonto Creek flows through Gisela on its way to Roosevelt Lake on the Salt River.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 532 people, 225 households, and 161 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 295 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.4%

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

, 0.2% Native American, 2.3% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 5.6% of the population were

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 ...

or Latino of any race. There were 225 households, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were

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

living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.81. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,044, and the median income for a family was $28,750. Males had a median income of $31,328 versus $18,472 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $15,974. About 5.8% of families and 11.2% 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 17.5% of those under age 18 and 30.2% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

*The Gisela Ruin

are Salado culture, Salado ruins along Tonto Creek just downstream of Gisela.

Education

It is in the Payson Unified School District.
Text list
/ref> Payson High School is the zoned comprehensive high school.

References

{{authority control Populated places of the Mogollon Rim Census-designated places in Gila County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona