List of counties in Arizona

Wikimedia list article

There are 15 counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Four counties (Mohave, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma) were formed in 1864 in the Arizona Territory in 1862. All but La Paz County were formed by the time Arizona became a State in 1912.[1] There is also one county, Pah-Ute County, Arizona that was formed in 1865 from Mohave County and returned in 1871.

Arizona counties map

The names of many of the counties honor the state's Native American past. Nine of the fifteen counties are named after native groups that live in parts of what is now Arizona. Three of the other counties have Spanish names from the language of the early Hispanic explorers of Arizona. Another county, Graham County, is named for a physical feature, Mount Graham. Greenlee County is named after one of the state's early pioneers.[2]

Arizona's United States postal abbreviations is AZ and its FIPS code is 04.


Alphabetical listing change

County
FIPS code[3] County seat[4] Established[4] Formed from[1] Meaning of name[2] Population
(2020)[5]
Area[4][5] Map
Apache County 001 St. Johns 1879 Yavapai County The Apache (Ndee) people. Apache is an exonym from Zuni ʔapaču "Navajos" or Yavapai ʔpačə "enemy". 66,021 11,218 sq mi
(29,054 km2)
 
Cochise County 003 Bisbee 1881 Pima County Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache chief and leader of an 1861 uprising. Cochise is an anglicisation of K'uu-ch'ish "oak". 125,447 6,219 sq mi
(16,107 km2)
 
Coconino County 005 Flagstaff 1891 Yavapai County Coconino is a former designation for the Havasupai, Hualapai, and/or Yavapai, derived from the Hopi exonym Kohonino. 145,101 18,661 sq mi
(48,332 km2)
 
Gila County 007 Globe 1881 Maricopa and Pinal Counties The Gila River, a tributary of the Colorado. Possibly from Apache dzil "mountain," via Spanish Xila. 53,272 4,796 sq mi
(12,422 km2)
 
Graham County 009 Safford 1881 Apache and Pima Counties Mount Graham, in the Pinaleños. Mt. Graham itself is named for topographical engineer James Duncan Graham.[6] 38,533 4,641 sq mi
(12,020 km2)
 
Greenlee County 011 Clifton 1909 Graham County Mason Greenlee, early prospector. Named by an amendment initially intended to delay the bill creating "Lincoln County".[7] 9,563 1,848 sq mi
(4,786 km2)
 
La Paz County 012 Parker 1983 Yuma County La Paz, Arizona, a historic boomtown on the Colorado River. A common placename, La Paz means "The Peace" in Spanish. 16,557 4,513 sq mi
(11,689 km2)
 
Maricopa County 013 Phoenix 1871 Pima and Yavapai Counties The Maricopa (Piipaash) people. First attested in Spanish as Cocomaricopa, no origin or meaning is definitively known. 4,420,568 9,224 sq mi
(23,890 km2)
 
Mohave County 015 Kingman 1864 The Mohave (Aha Makhav) people. The Mohave endonym means "along the water," referring to the Colorado.[8] 213,267 13,470 sq mi
(34,887 km2)
 
Navajo County 017 Holbrook 1895 Apache County The Navajo (Diné) people. Navajo is an exonym from Tewa Navahu "big field," referring to the San Juan River Valley 106,717 9,959 sq mi
(25,794 km2)
 
Pima County 019 Tucson 1864 The Pima (Akimel O'odham) people. Pima is a Spanish exonym from the O'odham phrase pi mac "(I) don't know," presumably heard during initial encounters. 1,043,433 9,189 sq mi
(23,799 km2)
 
Pinal County 021 Florence 1875 Maricopa and Pima counties Pinal Peak, possibly from Spanish pinal "place of pines". Pinal Peak is now within the borders of Gila County. 425,264 5,374 sq mi
(13,919 km2)
 
Santa Cruz County 023 Nogales 1899 Cochise and Pima counties Santa Cruz River, a tributary of the Gila. A common placename, Santa Cruz means "Holy Cross" in Spanish. 47,669 1,238 sq mi
(3,206 km2)
 
Yavapai County 025 Prescott 1864 The Yavapai people. The Yavapé are one of four major Yavapai bands. 236,209 8,128 sq mi
(21,051 km2)
 
Yuma County 027 Yuma 1864 Yuma is a former name of the Quechan people, derived from the O'odham exonym Yumĭ. 203,881 5,519 sq mi
(14,294 km2)
 

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 Adams, Ward R. (1997). History of Arizona. Higginson Book Company. ISBN 0832870447.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kane, Joseph and Aiken, Charles (2004). The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810850362.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Archived from the original on September 28, 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 National Association of Counties. "NACo County Explorer". Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Arizona QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-08-31. (2020 Census)
  6. "A Little Bit of Mount Graham History". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
  7. "History of Greenlee County: Mason Greenlee". Greenlee County Government. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  8. "The Name Mojave". Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-01.