Santa Cruz

Formed March 15, 1899 (13^th county)

Santa Cruz County (47,665), Nogales (19,759)

The 1988 Modern style stucco and concrete replaced the 1904 brick courthouse located on a hill at the end of Congress Drive.  The site is five blocks north of Arizona State Highway 189.  R. C. Hanson and Associates were the building designers.  The county is named for Santa Cruz River and is Spanish for “holy cross.”  The county seat’s name is derived from the Spanish for “walnut grove.”  Nogales has been the county seat since formation.  The county was created on March 15, 1899 from parts of Cochise and Pima counties as the 13^th county. 

Santa Cruz County government consists of a sheriff, manager, and assessor (executive).  It has 3 supervisors (legislative.)  Two Superior Court Judges and One Justice Court Judge, a County Clerk and an Attorney serve Santa Cruz County (judicial.)  It is located on the Mexican border south of Tucson, Arizona.  The center of the county is 26.1 miles Northeast of Nogales nearer Patagonia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Pima and Cochise counties and Mexico.  The county shape is a rectangle with a foot sticking west out of the southwest corner. The county is pronounced SAN-TA KROOZ.  The county is in the Nogales Micropolitan Statistical Area.  Nogales is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 4.39% of the county population.

The area of the county is 1238 square miles.  It is 15 of 15 in size.  It ranks 12 out of 15 in population in the state.  It has a density of 38.5 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 15 in the state.  Santa Cruz County has 43.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 19 comes into the county from Pima County to the north and terminates at the Mexican border.