List of cities and towns in Arizona
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As of 2008, there are 90 incorporated cities and towns in the state of Arizona. Incorporated places in Arizona are those that have been granted home rule, possessing a local government in the form of a city or town council.
The majority of Arizonans reside in one of the state's incorporated places. Current census estimates put 5,052,698 of the state's 6,338,666 residents within these 90 cities and towns, accounting for a full 79.7% of the population. Most of the population is concentrated within the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.[1]
All 90 cities and towns incorporated as of 2008 are included in the following list. The oldest is Tucson, which was incorporated in 1877, and the most recent was the town of Diamond Star (subsequently renamed Star Valley), which was incorporated in 2005.[2]
Unincorporated communities, such as Sun City and Anthem, are not included despite being significant communities in their own right as they do not have official populations. For a listing of every populated place in Arizona, see List of localities in Arizona.
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[edit] Municipal incorporation in Arizona
The Arizona Constitution has, since its ratification in 1912, allowed for the creation of municipal corporations in any community with a population of 3,500 or greater.[3] According to the constitution, a municipal charter shall not be created by special laws or by the legislature, but rather by the communities themselves as provided by general law.[4] The population limit specified by the constitution was lowered by state law to a minimum of population of 1,500 for cities or towns, or 500 for communities located within 10 miles (16 km) of a national park or national monument.[5] State law further restricts the incorporation of new municipalities within urbanized areas, which are defined as a specific buffer zone surrounding existing cities and towns. [6]
Currently, state law allows for the incorporation of a community as either a city or a town, with the only additional requirement to incorporate as a city is a minimum population of 3,000.[7] Cities and towns in Arizona function in largely an identical manner, but cities are provided with a number of additional powers that a town charter does not provide, limited primarily to certain powers regarding the regulation of utilities and construction within the city limits. [8] State law allows adjoining towns to merge and it allows a city to annex a town, but it does not allow cities to merge. Additionally, a town may change its form of government to a city upon reaching the minimum population of 3,000. There are, however, large communities that have remained incorporated as a town in spite of attaining a large population; Gilbert, with nearly 200,000 residents, remains incorporated as a town.
Twenty Arizona municipalities were incorporated before 1912, when the state was admitted to the Union. As such, these cities and towns were incorporated by means other than those stipulated by current state law and the constitution. Phoenix, for example, was incorporated in 1881 by an act of the territorial legislature.[9]
[edit] List of incorporated places in Arizona
Key: and [a] indicate the listed city or town is a county seat.
| Name | County | Population (2007)[10] | Area (2000)[11] | Incorporated[12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Junction | Pinal [b] | 31,931 | 34.2 sq mi (89 km²) | 1978 |
| Avondale | Maricopa | 79,798 | 41.3 sq mi (107 km²) | 1946 |
| Benson | Cochise | 4,974 | 35.7 sq mi (92 km²) | 1924 |
| Bisbee[a] | Cochise | 5,996 | 4.8 sq mi (12 km²) | 1902 |
| Buckeye | Maricopa | 29,966 | 145.8 sq mi (378 km²) | 1929 |
| Bullhead City | Mohave | 40,980 | 46 sq mi (120 km²) | 1984 |
| Camp Verde | Yavapai | 10,797 | 42.6 sq mi (110 km²) | 1986 |
| Carefree | Maricopa | 3,875 | 8.9 sq mi (23 km²) | 1986 |
| Casa Grande | Pinal | 38,134 | 48.2 sq mi (125 km²) | 1915 |
| Cave Creek | Maricopa | 5,120 | 28.2 sq mi (73 km²) | 1986 |
| Chandler | Maricopa | 246,399 | 58 sq mi (150 km²) | 1920 |
| Chino Valley | Yavapai | 10,838 | 18.6 sq mi (48 km²) | 1970 |
| Clarkdale | Yavapai | 4,188 | 7.5 sq mi (19 km²) | 1957 |
| Clifton[a] | Greenlee | 2,324 | 14.9 sq mi (39 km²) | 1909 |
| Colorado City | Mohave | 4,807 | 10.5 sq mi (27 km²) | 1985 |
| Coolidge | Pinal | 9,570 | 5 sq mi (13 km²) | 1945 |
| Cottonwood | Yavapai | 11,281 | 10.7 sq mi (28 km²) | 1960 |
| Dewey-Humboldt | Yavapai | 3,774 | N/A [c] | 2004 |
| Douglas | Cochise | 16,932 | 7.7 sq mi (20 km²) | 1905 |
| Duncan | Greenlee | 733 | 2.6 sq mi (6.7 km²) | 1938 |
| Eagar | Apache | 4,424 | 11.3 sq mi (29 km²) | 1948 |
| El Mirage | Maricopa | 26,431 | 9.7 sq mi (25 km²) | 1951 |
| Eloy | Pinal | 11,896 | 71.7 sq mi (186 km²) | 1949 |
| Flagstaff[a] | Coconino | 59,746 | 63.6 sq mi (165 km²) | 1894 |
| Florence[a] | Pinal | 17,781 | 8.3 sq mi (21 km²) | 1908 |
| Fountain Hills | Maricopa | 25,316 | 18.2 sq mi (47 km²) | 1989 |
| Fredonia | Coconino | 1,096 | 7.4 sq mi (19 km²) | 1956 |
| Gila Bend | Maricopa | 1,870 | 22.8 sq mi (59 km²) | 1962 |
| Gilbert | Maricopa | 207,550 | 43.2 sq mi (112 km²) | 1920 |
| Glendale | Maricopa | 253,152 | 55.8 sq mi (145 km²) | 1910 |
| Globe[a] | Gila | 7,093 | 18 sq mi (47 km²) | 1907 |
| Goodyear | Maricopa | 52,864 | 116.5 sq mi (302 km²) | 1946 |
| Guadalupe | Maricopa | 5,732 | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) | 1975 |
| Hayden | Gila | 821 | 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km²) | 1956 |
| Holbrook[a] | Navajo | 5,091 | 15.4 sq mi (40 km²) | 1917 |
| Huachuca City | Cochise | 1,964 | 2.8 sq mi (7.3 km²) | 1958 |
| Jerome | Yavapai | 353 | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²) | 1889 |
| Kearny | Pinal | 3,104 | 2.8 sq mi (7.3 km²) | 1959 |
| Kingman[a] | Mohave | 27,696 | 30 sq mi (78 km²) | 1952 |
| Lake Havasu City | Mohave | 56,603 | 43.1 sq mi (112 km²) | 1978 |
| Litchfield Park | Maricopa | 5,593 | 3.1 sq mi (8.0 km²) | 1987 |
| Mammoth | Pinal | 2,427 | 1.1 sq mi (2.8 km²) | 1958 |
| Marana | Pima | 31,860 | 120 sq mi (310 km²) | 1977 |
| Maricopa | Pinal | 37,863 | N/A [c] | 2003 |
| Mesa | Maricopa | 452,933 | 125.2 sq mi (324 km²) | 1883 |
| Miami | Gila | 1,794 | 1 sq mi (2.6 km²) | 1918 |
| Nogales[a] | Santa Cruz | 19,870 | 20.8 sq mi (54 km²) | 1893 |
| Oro Valley | Pima | 40,195 | 31.9 sq mi (83 km²) | 1974 |
| Page | Coconino | 6,904 | 16.6 sq mi (43 km²) | 1975 |
| Paradise Valley | Maricopa | 14,921 | 15.5 sq mi (40 km²) | 1961 |
| Parker[a] | La Paz | 3,181 | 22 sq mi (57 km²) | 1948 |
| Patagonia | Santa Cruz | 784 | 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) | 1948 |
| Payson | Gila | 15,407 | 19.5 sq mi (51 km²) | 1973 |
| Peoria | Maricopa[b] | 146,743 | 141.7 sq mi (367 km²) | 1954 |
| Phoenix[a] | Maricopa | 1,552,259 | 475.1 sq mi (1,231 km²) | 1881 |
| Pima | Graham | 2,068 | 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km²) | 1916 |
| Pinetop-Lakeside | Navajo | 4,518 | 11.3 sq mi (29 km²) | 1984 |
| Prescott[a] | Yavapai | 42,265 | 153.5 sq mi (398 km²) | 1883 |
| Prescott Valley | Yavapai | 37,779 | 31.7 sq mi (82 km²) | 1978 |
| Quartzsite | La Paz | 3,497 | 36.3 sq mi (94 km²) | 1989 |
| Queen Creek | Maricopa [b] | 23,610 | 25.8 sq mi (67 km²) | 1989 |
| Safford[a] | Graham | 9,224 | 7.9 sq mi (20 km²) | 1901 |
| Sahuarita | Pima | 16,153 | 15.2 sq mi (39 km²) | 1994 |
| San Luis | Yuma | 23,810 | 26.5 sq mi (69 km²) | 1979 |
| Scottsdale | Maricopa | 235,677 | 184.4 sq mi (478 km²) | 1951 |
| Sedona | Yavapai[b] | 11,471 | 18.6 sq mi (48 km²) | 1988 |
| Show Low | Navajo | 11,763 | 27.9 sq mi (72 km²) | 1953 |
| Sierra Vista | Cochise | 43,044 | 153.5 sq mi (398 km²) | 1956 |
| Snowflake | Navajo | 5,343 | 30.9 sq mi (80 km²) | 1948 |
| Somerton | Yuma | 11,242 | 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km²) | 1918 |
| South Tucson | Pima | 5,598 | 1 sq mi (2.6 km²) | 1940 |
| Springerville | Apache | 1,980 | 11.7 sq mi (30 km²) | 1948 |
| St. Johns[a] | Apache | 3,592 | 6.6 sq mi (17 km²) | 1946 |
| Star Valley | Gila | 1,974 | N/A [c] | 2005 |
| Superior | Gila | 3,091 | 1.9 sq mi (4.9 km²) | 1976 |
| Surprise | Maricopa | 90,717 | 69.5 sq mi (180 km²) | 1960 |
| Taylor | Navajo | 4,063 | 24.6 sq mi (64 km²) | 1966 |
| Tempe | Maricopa | 174,091 | 40.2 sq mi (104 km²) | 1894 |
| Thatcher | Graham | 4,696 | 4.4 sq mi (11 km²) | 1899 |
| Tolleson | Maricopa | 7,078 | 5.6 sq mi (15 km²) | 1929 |
| Tombstone | Cochise | 1,562 | 4.3 sq mi (11 km²) | 1881 |
| Tucson[a] | Pima | 525,529 | 195.1 sq mi (505 km²) | 1877 |
| Wellton | Yuma | 1,905 | 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km²) | 1970 |
| Wickenburg | Maricopa | 6,593 | 11.5 sq mi (30 km²) | 1909 |
| Willcox | Cochise | 3,787 | 6.1 sq mi (16 km²) | 1915 |
| Williams | Coconino | 3,270 | 43.8 sq mi (113 km²) | 1901 |
| Winkelman | Gila | 433 | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²) | 1949 |
| Winslow | Navajo | 9,832 | 12.3 sq mi (32 km²) | 1900 |
| Youngtown | Maricopa | 4,880 | 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km²) | 1960 |
| Yuma[a] | Yuma | 88,687 | 106.7 sq mi (276 km²) | 1914 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a: This city or town is the county seat of its respective county.
- ^ b: The municipal boundaries of Peoria, Apache Junction, Queen Creek and Sedona cross the county border into, respectively, Yavapai County, Maricopa County, Pinal County and Coconino County. The above table lists the primary county these cities and towns reside in.
- ^ c: Dewey-Humboldt, Maricopa and Star Valley were incorporated after the 2000 Census and their area is not included. The 2000 areas of the CDPs corresponding to these cities are 22.9 square miles (59 km²), 4 square miles (10 km²) and 6.4 square miles (17 km²). The City of Maricopa has annexed beyond the boundaries of the former CDP and reports a current (2007) area of 31.9 square miles (83 km²)[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007". US Census Bureau (2008-03-07). Retrieved on 2008-06-29.
- ^ McQuerrey, Teresa (2006-04-03). "Rim Country sees year of growth, service and honors", The Payson Roundup. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Article 13, Section 2". Arizona Constitution. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Article 13, Section 1". Arizona Constitution. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "§9-101". Arizona Revised Statutes. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
- ^ "§9-101.01". Arizona Revised Statutes. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
- ^ "§9-281". Arizona Revised Statutes. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
- ^ "§9-276". Arizona Revised Statutes. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Out of the Ashes: The History of the City of Phoenix". City of Phoenix. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Arizona". United States Census Bureau (2007-06-28). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Arizona by Place". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Community Profiles". Arizona Department of Commerce. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Economic Development". City of Maricopa. Retrieved on 2008-06-19.
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