Nogales (;
English: or ) is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Santa Cruz is a County (United States), county in southern Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population is 47,669. The county seat is Nogales, Arizona, Nogales. The county was established in 1899. It ...
. The population was 20,837 at the
2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019.
Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales
combined statistical area, with a total population of 1,027,683 as of the 2010 Census.
Nogales forms Arizona's largest
transborder agglomeration
A transborder agglomeration is an urban area, urban agglomeration or conurbation that extends into multiple sovereign states and/or dependent territory, dependent territories. It includes city-states that agglomerate with their neighbouring countr ...
with its adjacent, much larger twin
Nogales,
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 ...
, across the
Mexican border
Mexico shares international borders with three nations:
*To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.
*To the sou ...
. The southern terminus of
Interstate 19 is located in Nogales at the U.S.–Mexico border; the highway continues south into Mexico as
Mexico Federal Highway 15. The highways meeting in Nogales are a major road intersection in the
CANAMEX Corridor
The CANAMEX corridor is a series of improvements to freeways and other transportation infrastructure linking Canada to Mexico through the United States. The corridor was established under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Currently the corr ...
, connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Nogales also is the beginning 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 ...
, an economically important trade region stretching from Nogales to
Prescott, including the
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 ...
and
Phoenix metropolitan areas.
Nogales is home to four international ports of entry, including the
Morley Pedestrian Port of Entry,
Dennis Deconcini Pedestrian and Passenger Vehicle Port of Entry, Union Pacific rail,
Nogales International Airport, and the Mariposa Port of Entry. The
Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry has twelve passenger vehicle inspection lanes and eight commercial inspection lanes.
Due to its location on the border and its major ports of entry, Nogales funnels an estimated $30 billion worth of international trade into Arizona and the United States, per year, in fresh produce and manufactured goods from Mexico and the world through the deep sea port in
Guaymas
Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the List of states of Mexico, state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the Mexico – United States border, U.S. ...
, Sonora, Mexico. This trade helps to support tens of thousands of jobs and the overall economies in Ambos Nogales and throughout the American state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora.
The town is named for the
black walnut trees which once grew abundantly in the mountain pass between the cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, and can still be found around the town.
History

The name ''Nogales'' is derived from the Spanish word for 'walnut' or 'walnut tree'. It refers to the large stands of walnut trees that once stood in the mountain pass where Nogales is located.
[A view of the center of town from hillside, looking west along International Street, c. 1898–99]
Nogales was at the beginning of the 1775–1776
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 ...
Expedition as it entered the present-day U.S. from
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
, and the town is now on 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. . On the second floor of the 1904 Nogales Courthouse is a small room dedicated to the 1775–1776 Anza Expedition.
In 1841, a land grant from the Mexican government to the Elías family established ''Los Nogales de Elías.'' Following the
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase ( "La Mesilla sale") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lan ...
in 1853, Nogales became a part of the
United States of America
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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
. In 1880, Russian-Jewish immigrants Isaac and Jacob Isaacson homesteaded the trading post of Isaacson, Arizona, at present-day Nogales.
The U.S. Postal Service opened the Isaacson post office but renamed it as Nogales in 1883.
In 1915, according to historian David Leighton, Sonora Gov. Jose M. Maytorena ordered the construction of an 11-wire fence, separating Nogales, Sonora from Nogales, Arizona, but it was taken down four months later.
On August 27, 1918, a
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
between United States Army forces and Mexican militia – mostly civilian in composition – took place. Culminating as the result of a decade's worth of tensions originating from the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
and earlier battles in Nogales along the border in 1913 and 1915, the main consequence of the 1918 violence saw the building of the first permanent border wall between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, along the previously unobstructed boundary line on International Street.
Demographics
As of the 2010
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 ...
,
there were 20,878 people, 5,985 households, and 4,937 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was . There were 6,501 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.7%
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 ...
, 0.4%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
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 ...
, 0.6%
Native American, 0.6%
Asian, 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 ...
, 24.3% from
other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. 95.0% 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 6,362 households, out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% 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, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 15.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.62.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.6% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,044, and the median income for a family was $24,637. Males had a median income of $24,636 versus $18,403 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 city was $14,440. About 30.8% of families and 32.7% 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 41.2% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.
Geography
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 city has a total area of , all land.
The city is at an elevation of .
[
]
Climate
Nogales has a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSh/BSk''), which is less hot and more rainy than a typical arid
Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
climate such as Phoenix. In the winter months, Nogales averages daily maximum temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, with December averaging daily highs of around . Lows typically settle just above the freezing mark () on a majority of nights, but it is not uncommon to see temperatures tumble below on some winter nights.
On the other hand, in the summer months, highs average between , with the month of June being the hottest with an average daytime high of . Nighttime lows for the summer months remain in the lower to mid 60s for the duration of the season. The Arizona Monsoon generally runs through July and August, and these months typically see eight inches or more of combined rainfall, which brings the average annual precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
for Nogales to about . Some monsoon season storms are capable of producing several inches of rain in a short amount of time, creating flash flood hazards.
At the Nogales 6 N station, the all-time highest recorded temperature was , which was reached on June 26, 1990. The lowest recorded temperature was on December 8, 1978.
Economy
The economy of Nogales is heavily dependent on the cross-border trade through its Ports of Entry by produce distributors and American-based manufacturing plants in Nogales, Sonora and throughout the rest of the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa. Most of Nogales' economy is based on agribusiness
Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy,
in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise.
The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
and produce distributors, which comes from large farms in the Mexican agri-belt. Despite its small population, Nogales actually receives much patronage from its bordering sister-city, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Most observers guess the population of Nogales, Sonora, at roughly 300,000. International commerce is a big part of Nogales' economy. More than 60 percent of Nogales' sales tax comes from the estimated 30,000 Mexican shoppers crossing the border daily. Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, are home to one of the largest maquiladora
A (), or (), is a factory that is largely duty (economics), duty free and tariff free. These factories take raw materials and assemble, manufacture, or process them and export the finished product. These factories and systems are present thro ...
clusters. This enables American manufacturing plants on both sides of the border to take advantage of favorable wage and operating costs and excellent transportation and distribution networks.
The Consulate-General of Mexico in Nogales is located on 135 W. Cardwell St.
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a major economic driver in the Ambos Nogales region, with thousands of employees working for both the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. Due to the large federal, state, and local police presence, Nogales has one of the highest police per-capita levels in the United States.
The largest employers in Nogales are:
* Seattle Sports
* City of Nogales
* County of Santa Cruz
* Dependable Home Health
* E.D.S. Manufacturing
* Holy Cross Hospital
* The Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
* Mariposa Community Health Center
* Nogales Unified School District
* Safeway
Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...
* Prestolite Wire
* UPS Supply Chain Solutions
* Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
Scenic attractions
The county of Santa Cruz and the city of Nogales have 200 properties listed in the National Register of Historic Sites, including Tumacacori National Monument first visited by Father Eusebio Kino
Eusebio Francisco Kino, Jesuits, SJ (, ; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer, mathematician and astronomer born in the Prince-Bishopric of Tre ...
in 1691 and 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 ...
Presidio, established by the Spanish in 1752 on an Indian village site. Others include the Old Tubac Schoolhouse, Old Nogales City Hall, Santa Cruz County Courthouse, and Patagonia Railroad Depot. The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary, 19 miles east, attracts worldwide visitors to see its diverse bird life. It is also host to ghost towns and mining camps, curio shops, first-class restaurants and night clubs.
The Santa Cruz County Historical Courthouse on Morley Street/Court Street has the statue of Lady Justice
Lady Justice () is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia.
Lady Justice originates from the personificat ...
on top of the building. The Nogales version of Lady Justice is not wearing a blindfold.
Interesting architecture and historical homes along Crawford and Court Streets provide a glimpse of border life at its peak during that time period. A day trip to old Nogales, Sonora reveals many of the same architectural uniqueness.
Several state parks and recreation areas are located close to Nogales, including Patagonia State Park, Peña Blanca Lake, Parker Canyon Lake, and Coronado National Forest. The Wine Country of Sonoita-Elgin is also located 20 miles east of Nogales.
Government
The City of Nogales operates under a council-manager form of government in which the mayor is elected to a 4-year term and has a single vote on the city council. The council then hires a city manager to run the day-to-day operations of the city. The 6 city council members are elected at-large to 4-year terms.
Transportation
Nogales is located at the south end of Interstate 19. Arizona State Route 189 connects Interstate 19 with the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry and Mexican Federal Highway 15
Federal Highway 15 (, Fed. 15 ) is Mexico 15 International Highway or Mexico- Nogales Highway, is a primary north–south highway, and is a toll-free part of the federal highways corridors () of Mexico. The highway begins in the north at the ...
. Arizona State Route 82 connects Nogales with Patagonia
Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
and Sonoita. Interstate 11 is proposed to replace I-19, terminating in Nogales.
Santa Cruz County operates the Nogales International Airport, a general use airport.
Local bus transportation in Nogales is currently provided by local companies. Private bus companies Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets.
Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
and TUFESA, as well as several shuttle companies, connect Nogales with Tucson and points north.
In popular culture
Many dozens of motion pictures have been filmed around the Nogales area. '' The Hangover Part III'' (2013) was partially filmed in Nogales during late 2012. Parts of town were decorated to appear to be Tijuana, Mexico. ''Dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
'' (2022) was partially set in Nogales, as the location for the funeral scene at the end, although these scenes were filmed in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...
's novel '' The Bottom of the Bottle'' is set in Nogales. A small part of William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...
's short story, "The Gernsback Continuum" refers to the city of Nogales. It is also mentioned as a border crossing point in Carlos Castaneda's ''Don Juan'' series, and a gateway into the Mexican Yaqui
The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language.
Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...
communities of Sonora.
Nogales is discussed at length in the popular political economics book ''Why Nations Fail
''Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty'', first published in 2012, is a book by economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, who jointly received the 2024 Nobel Economics Prize (alongside Simon Johnson) for their ...
'', comparing the relative success of Nogales, Arizona, to the poverty of Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales (), more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and the county seat of the Municipality of Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located in the north of the state across the U.S.-Mexico border, and is abutted on its north ...
.
Oscar winner Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...
dedicated his award to Ambos Nogales during his acceptance speech at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards in 2001.
Notable people
* Bob Baffert – 2015 & 2018 Triple Crown winner, champion horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
breeder and trainer
* Andrew Leo Bettwy – Arizona State Land Commissioner 1970–78
* Movita Castaneda – Actress best known for being the second wife of actor Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
* Travis Edmonson – Member of 1960's influential folk duo "Bud & Travis"
* Adrian Fontes
Adrian Fontes (born April 3, 1970) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he has served as the Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023, after defeating Republican Party (United ...
– 22nd and current Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023
* John Frederick "Jack" Hannah – Academy Award-winning Disney Studios artist and director
* Gil Heredia – 10-year Major League Baseball pitcher and University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame member, born 1965.
* Christine McIntyre – Actress, starred in 22 feature films, most notably as supporting character in Three Stooges films
* Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...
– Jazz bass player, composer, and bandleader
* Jack O'Connor – Longtime firearms editor for ''Outdoor Life'' magazine
* Alberto Alvaro Ríos – Author, poet, won the 1981 Walt Whitman
Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
award for "Whispering to Fool the Wind", current State of Arizona Poet Laureate.
* Roger Smith – Actor, star of ''77 Sunset Strip
''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...
'', husband to movie star Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...
.
* Verita Bouvaire-Thompson – Actress turned hairdresser, Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
's friend.
See also
* Battle of Nogales (1913)
* Battle of Nogales (1915)
The Second Battle of Nogales was a three-sided military engagement of the Mexican Revolution, fought in November 1915 at the border towns of Nogales, Sonora, and Nogales, Arizona. On the morning of November 26, rebel forces of Pancho Villa, who ...
* Battle of Ambos Nogales
* Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales (), more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and the county seat of the Municipality of Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located in the north of the state across the U.S.-Mexico border, and is abutted on its north ...
References
External links
Official government website
Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce
Nogales Unified School District
{{Authority control
Cities in Arizona
County seats in Arizona
Mexico–United States border crossings
Micropolitan areas of Arizona
Cities in Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Populated places in the Sonoran Desert
Twin cities
1841 establishments in Mexico
Divided cities