Coconino County, Arizona

Coconino County is a county in Arizona, United States, home to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and the San Francisco Peaks, the state’s highest mountains. It had a population of 145,101 at the 2020 census and covers 18,619 square miles (48,220 km2) centred near 35°42′N 111°30′W — the second-largest county by land area in the contiguous United States, behind only San Bernardino County, California.

Flagstaff is the county seat; its postal code is 86001. The county contains four cities, two incorporated towns, and dozens of unincorporated communities and reservation chapters spread across parts of the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Reservation and the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Most of Coconino County observes Mountain Standard Time year-round, while the Navajo Nation portion follows daylight saving time. Its FIPS code is 04005.

Towns & Villages in Coconino County

Coconino County has four incorporated cities (Flagstaff, Page, Williams, and a small part of Sedona), two incorporated towns (Fredonia and Tusayan), and roughly sixty named unincorporated communities and census-designated places, many of them ranches, trading posts, or Navajo/Hopi chapter communities. In the table below, CDP marks a census-designated place with its own population count, and Unincorp. marks a named community without incorporated status or a separately tabulated census figure.

Some names on old listings for this county turn out to belong elsewhere: Sedona’s post office and most of its population sit across the line in Yavapai County, so only the small northern slice of the city — mainly the Chapel of the Holy Cross area — is actually inside Coconino County. Grand Canyon Village and the community of Grand Canyon are the same place, listed separately in older directories.

ZIP Codes

• 86001 — Flagstaff (also serves Kachina Village, Mountainaire, Fort Valley)
• 86004 — Flagstaff/Doney Park (also serves Winona)
• 86015 — Bellemont
• 86017 — Munds Park
• 86018 — Parks
• 86020 — Cameron (also serves Gray Mountain)
• 86022 — Fredonia (also serves Jacob Lake)
• 86023 — Grand Canyon (also serves Tusayan)
• 86024 — Happy Jack
• 86035 — Leupp
• 86036 — Marble Canyon
• 86040 — Page (also serves LeChee and Wahweap)
• 86044 — Tonalea
• 86045 — Tuba City (also serves Moenkopi)
• 86046 — Williams (also serves Valle)
• 86052 — North Rim
• 86053 — Kaibito
• 86336 — Sedona
• 86435 — Supai

Many smaller communities — ranches, trading posts, and scattered Navajo homesites — use the ZIP code of the nearest post office town rather than one of their own.

Geography

Coconino County spans the Colorado Plateau from the rim of the Grand Canyon in the north to the Mogollon Rim and the ponderosa pine forests around Flagstaff in the south. The San Francisco Peaks, an extinct stratovolcano north of Flagstaff, top out above 12,600 feet and are the highest point in Arizona. The Colorado River forms much of the county’s northern edge, backing up into Lake Powell near Page, while the Little Colorado River crosses the eastern part of the county before joining the Colorado inside the Grand Canyon. Painted Desert badlands cover much of the northeast.

Coconino County borders Mohave County to the west, Yavapai County to the south, Gila County to the southeast, Navajo County to the east, and, across the Utah line, Kane County and San Juan County to the north (Kane County and San Juan County).

Demographics

Coconino County had 145,101 residents at the 2020 census, spread over a land area larger than nine entire U.S. states, for a density of roughly 7.8 people per square mile. Flagstaff, with 76,831 residents, is by far the largest community and home to over half the county’s population; Page, at 7,440, is a distant second. The county’s median household income runs below the Arizona median of $77,315, reflecting both a large low-income tribal-land population in the north and a smaller, higher-earning university and tourism workforce concentrated in Flagstaff.

Economy & Local Life

Tourism anchors the county economy: Grand Canyon National Park draws nearly five million visitors a year through the South Rim entrance near Tusayan, and Flagstaff serves as the main gateway city along historic Route 66 and Interstate 40. Northern Arizona University, headquartered in Flagstaff, is the county’s largest single employer, alongside the Flagstaff Medical Center and U.S. Forest Service offices managing the surrounding Coconino National Forest. Lowell Observatory, perched on a mesa above downtown Flagstaff, helped the city become the world’s first International Dark Sky Community in 2001. In the northern half of the county, tribal government, ranching, and Navajo and Hopi arts and crafts drive the local economy.

History

Coconino County was carved out of the eastern portion of Yavapai County and organized on February 18, 1891, the last of Arizona’s original 14 counties to be formed. Its name comes from “Cohonino,” an early term applied by surveyors to the Havasupai people, whose village of Supai still sits deep in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon and remains the only place in the country where mail is carried in and out by mule train. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached Flagstaff in 1882, and Route 66 later followed roughly the same corridor through Williams and Flagstaff, cementing both towns as waystations for cross-country travelers. Grand Canyon National Park, established in 1919, sits almost entirely within the county’s borders.

Getting There

Interstate 40 runs east-west through Flagstaff and Williams, and U.S. Route 89 runs north-south from Flagstaff to Page and on to Utah. State Route 64 connects Williams to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim through Tusayan.

• Phoenix — 145 miles south
• Las Vegas — 260 miles northwest
• Grand Canyon Village — 80 miles north of Flagstaff
• Page — 135 miles north of Flagstaff

Flagstaff Pulliam Airport offers commercial flights, and Amtrak’s Southwest Chief stops daily in downtown Flagstaff on its Chicago–Los Angeles route. Grand Canyon National Park Airport in Tusayan handles sightseeing and charter traffic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Coconino County?
It sits in north-central Arizona, stretching from the Utah border south to Flagstaff, and includes the South Rim and North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

What is the population of Coconino County?
145,101 people at the 2020 census, making it the fifth most populous county in Arizona.

How big is Coconino County?
18,619 square miles (48,220 km2) — the second-largest county by land area in the contiguous United States.

What is the county seat of Coconino County?
Flagstaff is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Coconino County?
Four incorporated cities (Flagstaff, Page, Williams, and a small part of Sedona) and two incorporated towns (Fredonia and Tusayan), plus dozens of unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Coconino County?
Major codes include 86001 (Flagstaff), 86040 (Page), 86046 (Williams), 86023 (Grand Canyon/Tusayan), and 86022 (Fredonia); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.

How does mail reach Supai village?
Supai, on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, is the only place in the United States where mail is still delivered by mule train, since no road reaches the village at the bottom of the canyon.

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