Pinal County Statistics / History

Pinal County At-A-Glance
County Seat: Florence
2021 Population: 439,128
2022 Labor Force: 199,983
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Major Industries: Public Administration, Retail Trade, Manufacturing, Accommodation, and Food Services

Pinal County was formed from portions of Maricopa and Pima counties on February 1, 1875, in response to the petition of residents of the upper Gila River Valley, as "Act Number 1" of the Eighth Territorial Legislature. Florence, established in 1866, was designated and has remained the county seat.

The county encompasses 5,374 square miles, of which 4.5 are water. In both economy and geography, Pinal County has two distinct regions. The eastern portion is characterized by mountains with elevations of 6,000 feet and its economy is driven by copper mining. The communities of Mammoth, Oracle, San Manuel, and Kearny have traditionally been active in copper mining, smelting, milling, and refining. The western area is primarily low desert valleys and irrigated agriculture. Arizona City, Eloy, Maricopa, Picacho, Red Rock, and Stanfield have agriculture based-economies. Apache Junction, Arizona City, Coolidge, Eloy, and particularly Casa Grande have diversified their economic base to include manufacturing, trade, and services.

This expansion and diversification in most of these areas have been facilitated by their location in the major growth corridor between Phoenix and Tucson near the junction of I-10 and I-8. Apache Junction is to the east of burgeoning Mesa.

The county is home to many interesting attractions, including the Old West Highway 60, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Picacho Peak State Park, Picacho Reservoir, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Oracle State Park, and University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, McFarland State Park, Lost Dutchman State Park, Skydive Arizona, the world's largest skydiving drop-zone, and the Florence Historical District, with 120 buildings on the National Register.

The state of Arizona is the county's largest landholder with 35%, followed by individuals and corporations, 22%; Indian reservations, 23%; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 14%, and the remaining 6% is other public land.