List of municipalities in Arizona explained

Arizona is a state located in the Western United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, Arizona is the 14th most populous state with 7,151,502 inhabitants (as of the 2020 census)^[1] and the 6th largest by land area spanning 113623.1sqmi.^[2] Arizona is divided into 15 counties and contains 91 incorporated cities and towns. 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. Most of the population is concentrated within the Phoenix metropolitan area, with an 2020 census population of 4,845,832 (of the state population).^[3]

Phoenix is the capital and largest city by population in Arizona with 1,608,139 residents,^[4] is ranked as the fifth most populous city in the United States, and land area spanning 517.5mi2 as of the 2020 census. The smallest municipality by population and land area is Winkelman with 296 residents in 0.75mi2. The oldest incorporated place in Arizona is Tucson which incorporated in 1877 and the most recent was the town of Tusayan which incorporated in March 2010.^[5]

Municipal incorporation

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.^[6] According to the Constitution, a municipal charter cannot be created by special laws or by the legislature, but rather by the communities themselves as provided by general law.^[7] The population limit specified by the constitution was lowered by state law to a minimum of population of 1,500 for most locations, and further reduced to 500 for communities located within of a national park or national monument.^[8] 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.^[9]

State law allows for the incorporation of a community as either a city or a town; the only additional requirement to incorporate as a city is a minimum population of 3,000.^[10] Cities and towns in Arizona function largely in an identical manner, but cities are provided with 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.^[11] State law allows adjoining towns to merge and it allows a city to annex a town, but it does not allow cities to merge.^{[12] [13]} Additionally, a town may change its form of government to a city upon reaching the minimum population of 3,000.^[14] There are, however, large communities that have remained incorporated as a town in spite of attaining a large population; Gilbert, with 267,918 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.^[15]

List of cities and towns

Name	Type^[16]	County	numbers style="background-color:#CEE0F2;" rowspan=2	Population (2020)^[17]	numbers style="background-color:#CEE0F2;" rowspan=2	Population (2010)^[18]	numbers style="background-color:#CEE0F2;" rowspan=2	Change	Land area (2020)^[19]	Population density (2020)	Incorporation year^[20]
sq mi	km^2
Apache Junction	City	Pinal, Maricopa		35.07disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Avondale	City	Maricopa		47.28disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Benson	City	Cochise		41.64disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Bisbee	City	Cochise		5.18disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Buckeye	City	Maricopa		392.98disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Bullhead City	City	Mohave		59.37disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Camp Verde	Town	Yavapai		42.35disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Carefree	Town	Maricopa		8.81disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Casa Grande	City	Pinal		110.87disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Cave Creek	Town	Maricopa		37.71disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Chandler	City	Maricopa		65.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Chino Valley	Town	Yavapai		62.42disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Clarkdale	Town	Yavapai		10.18disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Clifton	Town	Greenlee		14.62disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Colorado City	Town	Mohave		9.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Coolidge	City	Pinal		76.27disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Cottonwood	City	Yavapai		16.6disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Dewey-Humboldt	Town	Yavapai		18.79disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Douglas	City	Cochise		9.98disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Duncan	Town	Greenlee		2.15disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Eagar	Town	Apache		11.58disp=tableNaNdisp=table
El Mirage	City	Maricopa		9.9disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Eloy	City	Pinal		113.57disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Flagstaff	City	Coconino		66.03disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Florence	Town	Pinal		62.62disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Fountain Hills	Town	Maricopa		20.28disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Fredonia	Town	Coconino		8.88disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Gila Bend	Town	Maricopa		64.37disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Gilbert	Town	Maricopa		68.57disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Glendale	City	Maricopa		61.6disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Globe	City	Gila		18.26disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Goodyear	City	Maricopa		191.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Guadalupe	Town	Maricopa		0.8disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Hayden	Town	Gila, Pinal		1.27disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Holbrook	City	Navajo		17.34disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Huachuca City	Town	Cochise		2.83disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Jerome	Town	Yavapai		0.79disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Kearny	Town	Pinal		2.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Kingman	City	Mohave		37.55disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Lake Havasu City	City	Mohave		46.34disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Litchfield Park	City	Maricopa		3.28disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Mammoth	Town	Pinal		26.32disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Marana	Town	Pima, Pinal		121.1disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Maricopa	City	Pinal		42.46disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Mesa	City	Maricopa		138.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Miami	Town	Gila		0.89disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Nogales	City	Santa Cruz		20.82disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Oro Valley	Town	Pima		34.87disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Page	City	Coconino		38.18disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Paradise Valley	Town	Maricopa		15.38disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Parker	Town	La Paz		21.98disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Patagonia	Town	Santa Cruz		1.29disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Payson	Town	Gila		19.35disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Peoria	City	Maricopa, Yavapai		176.08disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Phoenix	City	Maricopa		518disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Pima	Town	Graham		7.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Pinetop-Lakeside	Town	Navajo		11.15disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Prescott	City	Yavapai		44.97disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Prescott Valley	Town	Yavapai		40.47disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Quartzsite	Town	La Paz		36.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Queen Creek	Town	Maricopa, Pinal		40.32disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Safford	City	Graham		9.27disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Sahuarita	Town	Pima		31.69disp=tableNaNdisp=table
San Luis	City	Yuma		34.03disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Scottsdale	City	Maricopa		184disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Sedona	City	Yavapai, Coconino		18.26disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Show Low	City	Navajo		65.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Sierra Vista	City	Cochise		152.25disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Snowflake	Town	Navajo		33.74disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Somerton	City	Yuma		7.27disp=tableNaNdisp=table
South Tucson	City	Pima		1.03disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Springerville	Town	Apache		11.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table
St. Johns	City	Apache		25.91disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Star Valley	Town	Gila		36.14disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Superior	Town	Pinal		1.96disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Surprise	City	Maricopa		110.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Taylor	Town	Navajo		32.66disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Tempe	City	Maricopa		39.94disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Thatcher	Town	Graham		6.6disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Tolleson	City	Maricopa		5.73disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Tombstone	City	Cochise		9.25disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Tucson	City	Pima		240.99disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Tusayan	Town	Coconino		16.83disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Wellton	Town	Yuma		28.88disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Wickenburg	Town	Maricopa, Yavapai		25.86disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Willcox	City	Cochise		6.15disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Williams	City	Coconino		43.83disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Winkelman	Town	Gila, Pinal		0.77disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Winslow	City	Navajo		12.99disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Youngtown	Town	Maricopa		1.49disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Yuma	City	Yuma		120.67disp=tableNaNdisp=table
Total municipalities	-	-			4548.05sqmi		-
State of Arizona	-	-			113623.1sqmi		-

See also

• List of counties in Arizona
• List of Indian reservations in Arizona
• List of census-designated places in Arizona

Notes and References

1. Web site: Arizona’s Population More Than 7 Million in 2020, Up 11.9% Since 2010 . Census.gov . United States Census Bureau.
2. Web site: Arizona Profile . . . October 5, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20210518004021/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0400000US04 . May 18, 2021.
3. Web site: Arizona’s Population More Than 7 Million in 2020, Up 11.9% Since 2010 . . United States Census Bureau.
4. Web site: Phoenix city, Arizona . . . January 15, 2022.
5. News: Competing interests divide new Arizona town. April 12, 2010. April 12, 2010. Dennis. Wagner. The Arizona Republic.
6. Web site: Article 13, Section 2. Arizona Constitution. January 1, 2020.
7. Web site: Article 13, Section 1. Arizona Constitution. January 1, 2020.
8. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-101. Incorporation; definition. Arizona State Legislature. June 21, 2008. https://archive.today/20120724135939/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00101.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. July 24, 2012. dead.
9. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-101.01. Incorporation, urbanized area. Arizona State Legislature. June 21, 2008. https://archive.today/20120729181322/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00101-01.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. July 29, 2012. dead.
10. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-281. Adoption procedure; board of freeholders; election. Arizona State Legislature. June 21, 2008. https://archive.today/20120719004545/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00281.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. July 19, 2012. dead.
11. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-276. Additional powers of cities. Arizona State Legislature. June 21, 2008. https://archive.today/20120718100002/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00276.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. July 18, 2012. dead.
12. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-121. Consolidation of towns. Arizona State Legislature. July 31, 2009. https://archive.today/20120729081546/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00121.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. July 29, 2012. dead.
13. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-122. Unification of a city and a town. Arizona State Legislature. July 31, 2009. https://archive.today/20120802004537/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00122.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. August 2, 2012. dead.
14. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes §9-271. Procedure for change; city officers. Arizona State Legislature. July 31, 2009. https://archive.today/20120802210211/http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/9/00271.htm&Title=9&DocType=ARS. August 2, 2012. dead.
15. Web site: Out of the Ashes: The History of the City of Phoenix . City of Phoenix . June 19, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080706222437/http://phoenix.gov/CITYGOV/history.html . July 6, 2008 .
16. Web site: About the League: Member Cities and Towns. Arizona League of Cities and Towns. August 9, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120214223014/http://www.azleague.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.cities. February 14, 2012.
17. Web site: Explore Census Data . U.S. Census Bureau . August 25, 2021.
18. Web site: GCT-PH1  - Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010  - State - Place and (in selected states) County Subdivision . . . June 17, 2015. https://archive.today/20200213114736/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.ST10/0400000US01 . February 13, 2020. dead .
19. Web site: Places . 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files . United States Census Bureau . August 27, 2021.
20. Web site: Community Profiles. Arizona Department of Commerce. May 22, 2015.