Arizona Counties Map: Click All 15 Counties

How many counties are in Arizona?

Arizona has 15 counties. 42 states have more, and 7 have fewer.

Arizona has only 15 counties, so each one is big. Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, holds about three of every five Arizonans. La Paz County, along the Colorado River, is the newest: it split from Yuma County in 1983.

How Arizona's counties were formed

The first Arizona Territorial Legislature created four counties in 1864: Mohave, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma. Others were split off over the next 45 years, and Greenlee County (1909) brought the count to 14 by the time Arizona became a state in 1912. La Paz County, formed from northern Yuma County in 1983, is the only county added since statehood. Prescott, the Yavapai County seat, served as the first territorial capital.

Arizona regions and the counties in each

Arizona's map splits into three natural zones. The Colorado Plateau in the north covers Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties, with the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert and much of the Navajo Nation. The central highlands along the Mogollon Rim cross Gila and northern Yavapai counties. The low Sonoran Desert fills the south and west: Maricopa (Phoenix), Pinal, Pima (Tucson), Yuma and La Paz. Cochise County, home to Tombstone and Bisbee, is the southeast corner on the Mexican border.

Notable places on the Arizona county map

Humphreys Peak, the state's highest point at 12,633 feet, is in Coconino County near Flagstaff. The Grand Canyon lies in Coconino and Mohave counties, Petrified Forest National Park in Navajo and Apache counties, and Saguaro National Park on both sides of Tucson in Pima County. The Four Corners Monument, where four states meet, is in Apache County, and Hoover Dam spans the Colorado River on Mohave County's border with Nevada.

Arizona counties map: the biggest and smallest

Coconino County is the largest county in Arizona, with 18,616 square miles of land, about 16% of the state. That's more land than 9 whole states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and others. Santa Cruz County is the smallest, at 1,236 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Santa Cruz County (1,236 sq mi), Greenlee County (1,842 sq mi) and La Paz County (4,497 sq mi).

Which counties in Arizona have the most people?

Maricopa County has the most people, about 4,673,096 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 62% of everyone in Arizona. The three biggest counties together hold 83% of the state's 7,582,384 people. Greenlee County has the fewest, about 9,410.

The most crowded is Maricopa County, with about 508 people per square mile. The emptiest is La Paz County, with about 4 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Phoenix in?

Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is in Maricopa County. It's also the county with the most people. Arizona is called the Grand Canyon State, and it became the 48th state in 1912.

Counties on the Arizona border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Arizona shares a border with California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

How Arizona's counties compare with other states

Arizona ranks 6th among the 50 states in land area and 14th in population. Its average county covers about 7,577 square miles and holds about 505,492 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Arizona's counties are bigger than usual in size. Bigger counties mean fewer names to learn for a state this size.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Arizona

• Coconino County in the north holds Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon's South Rim.
• Maricopa and Pinal counties form the Phoenix area in the middle of the state.
• Pima County (Tucson) and Santa Cruz County sit on the border with Mexico.
• Mohave, La Paz and Yuma counties line the Colorado River on the western edge.

With 15 counties, you can take on the whole map at once in a Practice round. Then print the Arizona county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 15 Arizona counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Arizona geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Southwest states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in arizona, and check arizona school voucher program to see whether a program may help pay for Arizona history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.