Fastest-growing counties in Arizona

Written by:
February 23, 2021
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Fastest-growing counties in Arizona

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Arizona using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

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Clay Gilliland // Flickr

#15. Cochise County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -3,401
--- #3,055 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.6%
--- #15 among counties in Arizona, #2,151 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 125,867
--- #8 largest county in Arizona, #503 largest county nationwide
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United States Bureau of Land Management // Wikimedia Commons

#14. La Paz County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +244
--- #1,304 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.2%
--- #12 among counties in Arizona, #1,340 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 20,793
--- #14 largest county in Arizona, #1,785 largest county nationwide
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Alan Levine // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Gila County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +274
--- #1,273 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.5%
--- #14 among counties in Arizona, #1,458 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 53,546
--- #11 largest county in Arizona, #942 largest county nationwide
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Elnogalense // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Santa Cruz County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +429
--- #1,190 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.9%
--- #13 among counties in Arizona, #1,386 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 46,480
--- #12 largest county in Arizona, #1,039 largest county nationwide
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Andreas F. Borchert // Wikimedia Commons

#11. Apache County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,199
--- #930 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.7%
--- #11 among counties in Arizona, #1,254 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 71,511
--- #10 largest county in Arizona, #754 largest county nationwide
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Bill Morrow // Wikimedia Commons

#10. Greenlee County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,204
--- #929 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +14.5%
--- #3 among counties in Arizona, #209 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 9,522
--- #15 largest county in Arizona, #2,464 largest county nationwide
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Wars // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Graham County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,966
--- #781 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.5%
--- #8 among counties in Arizona, #747 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 37,996
--- #13 largest county in Arizona, #1,224 largest county nationwide
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Ixnayonthetimmay // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Navajo County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,210
--- #745 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.1%
--- #10 among counties in Arizona, #1,200 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 109,270
--- #9 largest county in Arizona, #553 largest county nationwide
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InSapphoWeTrust // Wikicommons

#7. Mohave County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +8,518
--- #426 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.3%
--- #9 among counties in Arizona, #877 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 207,695
--- #6 largest county in Arizona, #319 largest county nationwide
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HildaWeges Photography // Shutterstock

#6. Coconino County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +9,450
--- #405 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +7.2%
--- #6 among counties in Arizona, #594 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 141,274
--- #7 largest county in Arizona, #458 largest county nationwide
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Martha.baden // Wikimedia

#5. Yavapai County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +18,807
--- #278 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.0%
--- #5 among counties in Arizona, #468 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 228,067
--- #4 largest county in Arizona, #291 largest county nationwide
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Ken Lund // Flickr

#4. Yuma County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +18,942
--- #276 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.9%
--- #4 among counties in Arizona, #408 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 209,468
--- #5 largest county in Arizona, #318 largest county nationwide
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Jay Yuan // Shutterstock

#3. Pima County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +62,745
--- #81 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.5%
--- #7 among counties in Arizona, #651 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 1,027,207
--- #2 largest county in Arizona, #44 largest county nationwide
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zeesstof // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Pinal County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +103,496
--- #43 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +31.4%
--- #1 among counties in Arizona, #32 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 432,793
--- #3 largest county in Arizona, #163 largest county nationwide
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Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#1. Maricopa County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +577,400
--- #2 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +15.4%
--- #2 among counties in Arizona, #187 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 4,328,810
--- #1 largest county in Arizona, #4 largest county nationwide

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