Pinal County, Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pinal County
U.S. county
Second Pinal County Courthouse in Florence
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Arizona
Arizona's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Founded	February 1, 1875
Named for	Pinal Peak
Seat	Florence
Largest municipality	San Tan Valley Maricopa (incorporated)
Area
• Total	5,374 sq mi (13,920 km2)
• Land	5,366 sq mi (13,900 km2)
• Water	8.6 sq mi (22 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	425,264
• Estimate  (2023)	484,239
• Density	79.134/sq mi (30.5537/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
Congressional districts	2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th

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 founded in 1875.

Pinal County contains parts of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, as well as all of the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Pinal County is included in the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. Suburban growth southward from greater Phoenix has begun to spread into the county's northern parts; similarly, growth northward from Tucson is spreading into the county's southern portions. Pinal County has five cities: Maricopa, Casa Grande, Apache Junction, Eloy, and Coolidge. There are also many unincorporated areas, which have shown accelerated growth patterns in recent years; such suburban development is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

History

Pinal County was carved out of neighboring Maricopa County and Pima County on February 1, 1875, during the Eighth Legislature. In the August 18, 1899, issue of The Arizona Magazine, the name "Pinal" is said to come from the pine-clad Pinal Mountains. Pinal County was the second-fastest-growing county in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010.

In 2010, CNN Money named Pinal County as the second fastest growing county in the USA.

Pinal County has been identified as the second riskiest county for combined impacts of climate change from 2040 to 2060, largely due to high risks of extreme heat, fire hazard and economic and crop damages.

Geography

Picketpost Peak, a prominent landmark above Superior

Spring wildflowers in the Sonoran Desert National Monument

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,374 square miles (13,920 km²), of which 5,366 square miles (13,900 km²) is land and 8.6 square miles (22 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Mountain ranges

• Mineral Mountains
• Sacaton Mountains
• Superstition Mountains
• Waterman Mountains

Adjacent counties

• Maricopa County – west, north
• Gila County – north
• Graham County – east
• Pima County – south

Major highways

National protected areas

• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Coronado National Forest (part)
• Hohokam Pima National Monument
• Ironwood Forest National Monument (part)
• Sonoran Desert National Monument (part)
• Tonto National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 375,770 people, 125,590 households, and 92,157 families living in the county. The population density was 70.0 inhabitants per square mile (27.0 inhabitants/km²). There were 159,222 housing units at an average density of 29.7 units per square mile (11.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.4% white, 5.6% American Indian, 4.6% black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.4% Pacific islander, 11.5% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 28.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.9% were German, 10.6% were Irish, 9.5% were English, and 2.8% were American.

Of the 125,590 households, 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.6% were non-families, and 20.5% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age was 35.3 years.

The median household income was $51,310 and the median family income was $56,299. Males had a median income of $45,082 versus $34,785 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,716. About 10.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

CoreCivic, while still known as Corrections Corporation of America, operated the privately owned Saguaro Correctional Center. located in Eloy in Pinal County, It is paid by the state of Hawaii to house the majority of Hawaii's male prison inmate population.

Communities

Map of incorporated areas and Indian reservations in Pinal County

Native copper with cuprite from the Ray Mine near Kearny

Cities

• Apache Junction (partially in Maricopa County)
• Casa Grande
• Coolidge
• Eloy
• Maricopa

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Pinal County. † county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Pinal para niños