Yavapai County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

near the center of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. 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 ...

is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the northern portions of Peoria and Wickenburg, the balance of which are in the

Phoenix Metropolitan Area The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...

History

Yavapai County was one of the four original Arizona counties created by the

1st Arizona Territorial Legislature The 1st Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which began on September 26, 1864, in Prescott, Arizona, and ran for forty-three days. The session was responsible for enacting Arizona's fi ...

. The county territory was defined as being east of longitude 113° 20' and north of the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...

. Soon thereafter, the counties of

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 ...

, Coconino, Maricopa, and

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

were carved from the original Yavapai County. Yavapai County's present boundaries were established in 1891. The county is named after the

Yavapai people The Yavapai ( ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe in Arizona. Their Yavapai language belongs to the Upland Yuman languages, Yuman branch of the proposed Hokan languages, Hokan language family. Today Yavapai peop ...

, who were the principal inhabitants at the time the United States annexed the area. County level law enforcement services have been provided by Yavapai County Sheriff's Office since 1864.

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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.05%) is water. It has about 93% of the area of the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It is larger than three U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut) and the District of Columbia combined. The county's topography makes a dramatic transition from the lower

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 ...

to the south to the heights of the

Coconino Plateau The Coconino Plateau is found south of the Grand Canyon and north-northwest of Flagstaff, in northern Arizona of the Southwestern United States. Geography The Coconino Plateau lies south of Grand Canyon Village and the South Rim of the Grand ...

to the north, and the

Mogollon Rim The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topography, topographical and geological feature cutting across Northern Arizona, the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapa ...

to the east. The highest point above sea level (MSL) in Yavapai County is Mount Union at an elevation of and the lowest is Agua Fria River drainage, now under Lake Pleasant.

Adjacent counties

* Mohave Countywest * La Paz Countysouthwest *

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

south *

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 ...

south/southeast *

Coconino County Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the North Central Arizona, North-Central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizon ...

north/northeast

Major highways

Interstate 17 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

U.S. Route 93 * Arizona 66

State Route 66 * Arizona 69

State Route 69 * Arizona 71

State Route 71 * Arizona 89

State Route 89 * Arizona 169

State Route 169 * Arizona 179

State Route 179 * Arizona 260

State Route 260 * Arizona 279

State Route 279

National protected areas

* Agua Fria National Monument * Coconino National Forest (part) * Kaibab National Forest (part) *

Montezuma Castle National Monument Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved dwellings located in Camp Verde, Arizona, which were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other Prehistoric Southwest ...

Prescott National Forest The Prescott National Forest is a 1.25 million-acre (510,000 ha) United States National Forest located in north central Arizona in the vicinity of Prescott. The forest is located in the mountains southwest of Flagstaff and north of Phoenix ...

(part) *

Tonto National Forest The Tonto National Forest, encompassing , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in ...

(part) * Tuzigoot National Monument There are nineteen official

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s in Yavapai County that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

. Fourteen of these are integral parts of National Forests listed above, whereas five are managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

. Some of these extend into neighboring counties (as indicated below): * Apache Creek Wilderness (Prescott NF) * Arrastra Mountain Wilderness (BLM) mostly in Mohave County; also partly in La Paz County * Castle Creek Wilderness (Prescott NF) * Cedar Bench Wilderness (Prescott NF) * Fossil Springs Wilderness (Coconino NF) mostly in Coconino County * Granite Mountain Wilderness (Arizona) (Prescott NF) * Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness (BLM) *

Hells Canyon Wilderness (Arizona) Hells Canyon Wilderness is a 9,951 acre (4,027 ha) National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness area in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix in Maricopa County ...

(BLM) partly in Maricopa County * Juniper Mesa Wilderness (Prescott NF) * Mazatzal Wilderness (Tonto NF / Coconino NF) partly in Gila County; Maricopa County * Munds Mountain Wilderness (Coconino NF) mostly in Coconino County * Pine Mountain Wilderness (Tonto NF/Prescott NF) * Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness (Coconino NF) partly in Coconino County * Sycamore Canyon Wilderness (Prescott NF/Coconino NF / Kaibab NF) mostly in Coconino County * Tres Alamos Wilderness (BLM) * Upper Burro Creek Wilderness (BLM) partly in Mohave County * West Clear Creek Wilderness (Coconino NF) partly in Coconino County *

Wet Beaver Wilderness Wet Beaver Wilderness is a 6,155-acre (2,491 ha) wilderness area located in the Coconino National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona.

(Coconino NF) partly in Coconino County * Woodchute Wilderness (Prescott NF)

Land ownership and management

* Private ownership: about 25% of Yavapai County's land (by area) is privately owned. *

Public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Commonwealth realms). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. ...

: about 75% of the county's area is publicly owned, including :*Federal ownership: about 50% of the county's area is owned by the

federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

, including ::* National Forest lands, managed by the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

: 38% of the county's area ::*Federal lands managed by the U.S.

: 11.6% of the county's area ::*Small areas of federal land are managed by the U.S.

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

: less than 0.5% of the county's area. ::: Yavapai-Prescott Tribe ::: Yavapai-Apache Nation :*About 25% of Yavapai County is owned by the State of Arizona as

state trust lands State trust lands were granted by the United States Congress to states upon entering the Union. These lands were designated to support essential public institutions which are primarily public schools. State trust land managers lease and sell these ...

, managed by the

Arizona State Land Department The Arizona State Land Department is a department of the state government in the U.S. state of Arizona dedicated to the management of state-owned lands and property. Mission statement The mission statement of the Arizona State Land Department is ...

Flora and fauna

There are numerous flora and fauna species within Yavapai County. For example, a number of plants within the genus Ephedra and

Coreopsis ''Coreopsis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Common names include calliopsis and tickseed, a name shared with various tickseed, other plants. Description These plants range from in height. The flowers are usually ye ...

are found in the county. Yavapai County is also the location of several groves of the near-threatened California Fan Palm, '' Washingtonia filifera''.

Attractions

Yavapai County is home to Arcosanti, a prototype

arcology Arcology, a Blend word, portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology",. is a field of creating architectural design principles for very densely populated and Sustainable development, ecologically low-impact human habitats. The term was coined in ...

, developed by

Paolo Soleri Paolo Soleri (21 June 1919 – 9 April 2013) was an American architect and urban planner. He established the educational Cosanti Foundation and Arcosanti. Soleri was a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a Nati ...

, and under construction since 1970. Arcosanti is just north of Cordes Junction, Arizona. Out of Africa Wildlife Park is a private zoo. The park moved to the Camp Verde area from the East Valley in 2005. Approximately northwest of the town of Bagdad lies the Upper Burro Creek Wilderness Area, a protected area home to at least 150 species of birds and featuring one of the Arizona desert's few undammed perennial streams.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

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 2010, there were 211,033 people, 90,903 households, and 57,597 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 110,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.3% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 4.9% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 13.6% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: * 22.5% German * 16.0% Irish * 15.8% English * 11.5% Mexican * 5.4%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

* 5.0% American * 4.7% French * 3.4% Scottish * 3.1% Polish * 2.9% Swedish * 2.6% Norwegian * 2.6% Scotch-Irish * 2.5% Dutch * 1.2%

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

* 1.0% Welsh * 1.0% Danish Of the 90,903 households, 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.6% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age was 49.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,290 and the median income for a family was $53,499. Males had a median income of $40,854 versus $31,705 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,527. About 8.8% of families and 13.7% 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 20.1% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 167,517 people, 70,171 households, and 46,733 families living in the county. 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 81,730 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.9%

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 ...

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 ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 3.6% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. 9.8% 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 70,171 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% 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, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.79. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,901, and the median income for a family was $40,910. Males had a median income of $30,738 versus $22,114 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 county was $19,727. About 7.9% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the

, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over. Yavapai County is defined as the Prescott Metropolitan Statistical Area by the

Politics

Yavapai has historically been the most Republican county in Arizona, though it has become rivalled by Graham and exceeded by Mohave since the turn of the century. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Yavapai County since

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948, and even when the county did go Democratic in the Truman and Roosevelt eras, it typically did so by a smaller margin than any other county in the state.

Communities

Cities

* Cottonwood * Peoria (mostly in

) * Prescott (county seat) * Sedona (partly in

)

Towns

* Camp Verde * Chino Valley * Clarkdale * Dewey-Humboldt *

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

* Prescott Valley * Wickenburg (partly in

)

Census-designated places

* Ash Fork * Bagdad * Black Canyon City *

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

* Cordes Lakes * Cornville * Lake Montezuma * Mayer * Paulden * Peeples Valley * Seligman * Spring Valley * Verde Village * Village of Oak Creek * Wilhoit * Williamson * Yarnell

Indian communities

* Yavapai-Apache Nation * Yavapai-Prescott Tribe

Unincorporated communities

* Arcosanti *

Bumble Bee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

* Cleator * Clemenceau * Cordes * Crown King *

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

* Groom Creek * Iron Springs * Kirkland * Ponderosa Park * Skull Valley * Tip Top

Ghost towns

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

* American Ranch * Apron Crossing * Big Bug * Bradshaw City *

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

* Catoctin *

* Cleator * Clemenceau *

* Cordes *

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

* Gillett * Jerome Junction *

Octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

* Simmons * Stanton * Stoddard * Tip Top * Weaver * Columbia

Geographic features

* Sunset Point is a cliff adjacent to

. It has an elevation of . The Sunset Point Rest Area, located at the top of the cliff, provides travelers with a scenic view.

County population ranking

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

Education

School districts include: Unified: * Ash Fork Joint Unified District * Bagdad Unified School District * Camp Verde Unified District * Chino Valley Unified District *

Humboldt Unified District Humboldt Unified School District is a school district based in Prescott Valley, Arizona, Prescott Valley, Arizona, United States. It includes most of Prescott Valley, all of Dewey Humboldt, Arizona, Dewey Humboldt, small portions of Chino Valle ...

Citations

General sources

* Fuis, G. S. (1996)
''The geology and mechanics of formation of the Fort Rock dome, Yavapai County, Arizona''
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1266. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior. .

External links

*
Yavapai County Profile
b
Arizona Department of Commerce

Prescott eNews
riginal local news Web site for Prescott (the county seat) and the surrounding communities.
Yavapai County government website
{{Authority control Arizona placenames of Native American origin 1864 establishments in Arizona Territory Populated places established in 1864