Santa Cruz County is a county in Arizona, United States, anchored by the border city of Nogales on the boundary with Sonora, Mexico. It had a population of 47,669 at the 2020 census and covers 1,238 square miles (3,210 km2) centred near 31°32′N 110°50′W — the smallest of Arizona’s fifteen counties by land area.
Nogales is the county seat; its postal code is 85621. The county has one incorporated city, one incorporated town, several census-designated places, and a scatter of unincorporated mining camps and ranch communities — there are no civil townships. Santa Cruz County sits in the Mountain time zone (UTC−7) and does not observe daylight saving time.
Towns & Villages in Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County’s places range from Nogales, a working border city of nearly 20,000, to a string of 19th-century mining camps now reduced to a handful of buildings or none at all. Below, CDPs are unincorporated communities recognized by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes; the remaining entries are informal ranching or former-mining settlements with no official boundary.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nogales | City · seat | 19,770 | 85621 |
| Patagonia | Town | 804 | 85624 |
| Tubac | CDP | 1,581 | 85640 |
| Rio Rico | CDP | — | 85648 |
| Sonoita | CDP | 803 | 85637 |
| Tumacacori-Carmen | CDP | — | 85640 |
| Amado | Unincorp. | — | 85645 |
| Elgin | Unincorp. | — | 85611 |
| Kino Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lochiel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Canelo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Calabasas | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Casa Piedra | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Duquesne | Unincorp. (historic mining camp) | — | — |
| Harshaw | Unincorp. (historic mining camp) | — | — |
| Oro Blanco | Unincorp. (historic mining district) | — | — |
| Ruby | Unincorp. (ghost town) | — | — |
| Washington Camp | Unincorp. (historic mining camp) | — | — |
Tumacacori-Carmen shares the 85640 ZIP with neighboring Tubac and is easy to confuse with the Tumacácori National Historical Park two miles south — the CDP is the small residential cluster around the mission, not the park itself.
ZIP Codes
- 85621 — Nogales (also serves Kino Springs)
- 85624 — Patagonia
- 85637 — Sonoita (also serves Canelo and Elgin’s eastern edge)
- 85640 — Tubac (also serves Tumacacori-Carmen)
- 85645 — Amado
- 85648 — Rio Rico
- 85611 — Elgin
Ranching and former mining settlements away from these post offices — Duquesne, Harshaw, Oro Blanco, Ruby, and Washington Camp — use a Nogales or Patagonia mailing address depending on which road serves them.
Geography
Santa Cruz County straddles the transition between the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, with sky-island mountain ranges rising out of high desert grassland: the Santa Rita Mountains and Canelo Hills in the north, the Patagonia Mountains along the Mexican border, and the Atascosa and Pajarito ranges to the west. The Santa Cruz River, an unusual watercourse that loops south into Mexico and back north again, runs the length of the county past Nogales, Tubac, and Rio Rico before crossing into Pima County. Elevations run from roughly 3,600 feet along the river to over 9,400 feet atop Mount Wrightson in the Santa Ritas.
Santa Cruz County borders Pima County to the north and west and Cochise County to the east; Sonora, Mexico, lies immediately south across an international line that runs through Nogales itself.
Demographics
The county’s 47,669 residents at the 2020 census made it Arizona’s least populous major-metro-adjacent county by land area but not by density; at about 38 people per square mile, its population concentrates heavily along the I-19 corridor. Nogales, with 19,770 residents, and the Rio Rico CDP just north of it hold most of that total between them. Santa Cruz County’s household income runs well below the Arizona median of $77,315, reflecting a border-economy job base weighted toward retail, transportation, and produce warehousing rather than higher-wage sectors.
Economy & Local Life
Nogales is one of the busiest inland ports of entry in the United States and the single largest gateway for winter fresh produce imported from Mexico — tomatoes, peppers, and melons move north through its warehouses by the truckload much of the year, supporting a large share of county employment in logistics, customs brokerage, and produce distribution. Cattle ranching and hay production remain the backbone of the rural county outside Nogales. Sonoita and Elgin anchor Arizona’s oldest recognized wine-growing area, with a cluster of vineyards and tasting rooms along State Route 82/83. Tubac, a former presidio and now an arts colony of galleries and studios, and Patagonia, a onetime mining and railroad town turned small artistic and birding destination, both draw regional day-trip and weekend tourism.
History
Santa Cruz County was organized on March 15, 1899, carved out of the eastern portion of Pima County with Nogales as its seat. It takes its name from the Santa Cruz River, named by Spanish missionaries in the 1690s when Jesuit priest Eusebio Francisco Kino explored the valley and established missions along it, including the one at Tumacácori. Silver and lead mining drove the 19th-century settlement of the Patagonia and Santa Rita foothills, filling now-abandoned camps such as Duquesne, Harshaw, Washington Camp, and Ruby; several were active into the mid-20th century before ore prices and depleted veins emptied them out. Fort Buchanan and, later, Camp Crittenden garrisoned the Sonoita area during the Apache Wars of the 1860s–70s.
Getting There
Interstate 19 is the county’s spine, running north from the border at Nogales through Rio Rico and Tubac to Tucson. State Routes 82 and 83 connect Nogales to Patagonia, Sonoita, and the wine country beyond. Three official crossings link Nogales to its sister city of Nogales, Sonora: the DeConcini, Morley Gate, and Mariposa ports of entry.
- Nogales — county seat
- Tucson — about 65 miles north via I-19
- Patagonia — about 18 miles northeast of Nogales via SR 82
- Sonoita — about 30 miles northeast of Nogales via SR 82/83
Tucson International Airport, roughly 60 miles north, is the nearest commercial airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Santa Cruz County, Arizona?
It sits in the far south of Arizona, on the international border with Sonora, Mexico, between Pima County to the west and Cochise County to the east.
What is the population of Santa Cruz County?
47,669 at the 2020 census.
How big is Santa Cruz County?
1,238 square miles (3,210 km2), making it Arizona’s smallest county by land area.
What is the county seat of Santa Cruz County?
Nogales, a border city of 19,770 people.
How many towns and communities are in Santa Cruz County?
One city (Nogales), one incorporated town (Patagonia), several census-designated places including Rio Rico, Tubac, and Sonoita, and a number of small unincorporated ranching and historic mining communities.
What ZIP codes are in Santa Cruz County?
85621 (Nogales), 85624 (Patagonia), 85637 (Sonoita), 85640 (Tubac), 85645 (Amado), 85648 (Rio Rico), and 85611 (Elgin).
Why does so much winter produce move through Nogales?
Nogales is the leading U.S. port of entry for fresh fruit and vegetables trucked north from Sinaloa and other Mexican growing regions, and its warehouse district handles a large share of the country’s winter tomato and pepper supply.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arizona.