2.1 Overview of JLUS Partner Communities
Pinal County
Year Incorporated:
1875
2017 Estimated Population: 405,537
Projected 2050 Population:
1,035,522
Major Industries:
Public Administration, Retail Trade,
Manufacturing, Accommodation & Food Services
Pinal County was founded in 1875 and is in the central part of the State of Arizona. On
February 1, 1875, legislation was passed by the eighth Arizona Territorial Legislature that
designated 5,374 square miles as Pinal County from the lands were formerly part of
Maricopa and Pima Counties. The county was named after the Pinal Mountains (derived
from the Spanish term for “stand of pines”) and the Pinal Coyotero Indians (a band of
Coyotero Apache) who lived there.
The counties that border Pinal County are:
Gila County, to the northeast;
Graham County, to the east;
Pima County, to the South; and
Maricopa County, to the west and northwest.
Pinal County includes a number of incorporated cities, towns, and Indian reservations:
AK‐Chin Indian Community
City of Apache Junction
City of Casa Grande
City of Coolidge
City of Eloy
City of Maricopa
Gila River Indian Community
Town of Florence
(serving as the county seat)
Town of Superior
Town of Kearny
Town of Mammoth
Town of Marana
Pinal County’s initial growth was spurred by the discovery of copper in the early 1920s
and development of numerous large and prosperous mines, mostly in the eastern portion
of the county.
Background Report
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