Cochise County, Arizona

Cochise County is a county in Arizona, United States, occupying the state’s southeastern corner along the border with Sonora, Mexico. It had a population of 125,447 at the 2020 census and covers 6,219 square miles (16,110 km2), centred near 31°52′N 109°45′W.

Bisbee is the county seat, and its postal code is 85603. The county has seven incorporated municipalities (six cities and one town), fifteen census-designated places, and dozens more unincorporated communities and former mining camps. Cochise County observes Mountain Standard Time year-round (UTC−7, no daylight saving) and carries FIPS code 04003.

Towns & Villages in Cochise County

Cochise County’s map is dotted with Old West mining camps, ranching hamlets, and retirement communities spread across the Sulphur Springs and San Pedro valleys. The table below covers incorporated cities and towns, census-designated places, and named unincorporated communities carried over from county records. “CDP” marks a Census Bureau-recognised place with no city government; “Unincorp.” marks a named locality with no formal boundary.

Cochise (the community, item 27 on the county’s historic list) and Cochise County share a name honouring the same Chiricahua Apache leader — they are not the same place. Lowell, South Bisbee, and Warren are historic mining suburbs immediately adjacent to Bisbee, now effectively part of its urban footprint though not formally annexed. A handful of names from older county lists (mobile-home parks, unmarked ranch turnoffs, and duplicate spellings) are omitted here as unverifiable against current gazetteer records — see notes.

ZIP Codes

• 85603 — Bisbee (also serves Lowell, South Bisbee, Warren)
• 85635 — Sierra Vista
• 85650 — Sierra Vista Southeast
• 85607 — Douglas (also serves Pirtleville)
• 85602 — Benson
• 85643 — Willcox (also serves Chiricahua)
• 85638 — Tombstone
• 85616 — Huachuca City (also serves Whetstone)
• 85615 — Hereford & Palominas
• 85625 — Pearce, Sunsites & Sunizona
• 85630 — Saint David
• 85620 — Naco
• 85610 — Elfrida
• 85605 — Bowie
• 85617 — McNeal
• 85609 — Dragoon
• 85632 — San Simon & Portal
• 85627 — Pomerene
• 85606 — Cochise

Smaller unincorporated places without their own post office, such as Mescal, Miracle Valley, and Double Adobe, are served by the ZIP code of the nearest listed town.

Geography

Cochise County spans two major basins, the San Pedro Valley in the west and the Sulphur Springs Valley in the east, separated by the Mule and Dragoon mountains. The San Pedro River runs north through the county past Sierra Vista and Benson; the Chiricahua Mountains rise along the county’s eastern edge, partly protected within Chiricahua National Monument and the Coronado National Forest. The county borders Graham County to the north, Greenlee County to the northeast, Pima County to the west, and Santa Cruz County to the southwest, with Hidalgo and Grant counties, New Mexico, along its eastern line and Sonora, Mexico, forming its entire southern border.

Demographics

Cochise County’s 2020 population of 125,447 works out to roughly 20 people per square mile, concentrated heavily in the Sierra Vista and Douglas metro areas. Sierra Vista, home to Fort Huachuca, is by far the largest community; Douglas, on the international border, is the county’s second-largest city. Cochise County’s median household income runs below the Arizona median of $77,315, reflecting a mix of military, agricultural, and border-trade employment rather than the higher-wage Phoenix or Tucson metro economies.

Economy & Local Life

Fort Huachuca, the U.S. Army’s intelligence and electronic-warfare training post next to Sierra Vista, is the county’s largest employer and drives much of its economy. Douglas has long depended on cross-border trade and copper smelting history tied to Phelps Dodge; Bisbee, once one of the richest copper camps in the world, has reinvented itself as an arts and tourism town built into the old mine terraces. Ranching and irrigated agriculture, especially pecans and cotton around Willcox and the Sulphur Springs Valley, remain significant, and the Willcox AVA has grown into a recognised Arizona wine-grape region. Willcox also hosts the annual Rex Allen Days rodeo each October, honouring the cowboy actor and singer who grew up there.

History

Cochise County was organised on February 1, 1881, carved out of Pima County, and named for Cochise, the Chiricahua Apache leader who had fought U.S. and Mexican forces from strongholds in the Dragoon and Chiricahua mountains before his 1874 death. The county’s early decades were defined by silver and copper mining booms at Tombstone and Bisbee, along with the 1881 gunfight near the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, still the county’s best-known historical event. Numerous mining camps — Courtland, Gleeson, Galeyville, Pearce — boomed and emptied within a generation, leaving the ghost towns that still dot the county today.

Getting There

Interstate 10 crosses the northern part of the county through Benson and Willcox; US Route 191 and Arizona State Routes 80, 82, 83, 90, and 92 connect the southern communities.

• Tucson — 70 miles northwest of Sierra Vista
• Bisbee — 24 miles southeast of Sierra Vista
• Douglas — 25 miles southeast of Bisbee
• Willcox — 45 miles northeast of Benson

The nearest commercial airport is Tucson International Airport; Sierra Vista Municipal Airport offers limited general aviation service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Cochise County, Arizona?
It occupies Arizona’s southeastern corner, bordering Sonora, Mexico, to the south and New Mexico to the east.

What is the population of Cochise County?
125,447 at the 2020 census.

How big is Cochise County?
6,219 square miles (16,110 km2), one of Arizona’s largest counties.

What is the county seat of Cochise County?
Bisbee, a former copper-mining town built into the hillsides of the Mule Mountains.

How many towns and cities are in Cochise County?
Seven incorporated municipalities — six cities and one town — plus fifteen census-designated places and dozens of unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Cochise County?
Bisbee’s is 85603; Sierra Vista, Douglas, Benson, Willcox, Tombstone, and the smaller communities each carry their own, listed above.

Why is Cochise County named that?
For Cochise, the Chiricahua Apache leader whose strongholds in the county’s mountains he defended against U.S. and Mexican forces until his death in 1874.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arizona.