| Population: 1,003,235 (Source: Arizona Department of Commerce, 2007)
County size: Pima County consists of 9,189 square miles in south central Arizona ranging in elevation from 1,200 feet to the 9,185-foot peak of Mount Lemmon.
Location: Pima County is one of the larger counties in southern Arizona bordering Mexico.
Community landmarks: Pima County has many distinctive natural and cultural landmarks. It lies at an ecological crossroad where habitats and species from the neo-tropics meet the Rocky Mountains and the Sonoran Desert. The diversity in flora, fauna and geology is spectacular. The area encompasses fi ve impressive mountain ranges—the Catalina, Rincon, Santa Catalina, Tucson, and Tortilla Mountains. It contains one of North America’s longest inhabited areas- the Santa Cruz River valley. It is rich in pre-
Columbian archeology, history and historic routes such as the De Anza Trail, as well as the living cultures of Native American tribes. Just south of Tucson is the Mission of San Xavier del Bac, founded in 1697 by Father Kino and still in use today. Within Pima County are two
cactus forests—Saguaro National Park to the northeast and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in the southwestern portion. The San Xavier, Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham reservations make up a large portion of the County.
Economy: A variety of activities help drive Pima County’s economy. Foremost among these are high-technology activities, the federal government, tourism, retail trade and other service operations.
Pima County is the home to a major military installation, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Prominent companies in the high-tech and aerospace industries and major medical and research facilities. The University of Arizona, ranked among the top 20 public research universities nationwide, is located in Pima County as well as one of the largest community colleges in the nation—Pima Community College. In 2008, The University of Arizona was one of the largest public sector employers with 11,806 employees. The UA is an integral part of the local economy and receives almost a half billion dollars in research grants each year.
The remaining large employers represent a balanced mix of health care, retail trade, education, government and military entities with Raytheon Missile Systems being the County’s largest private employer.
Pima County is committed to responsible growth. The County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan is mindful of the factual correlation between growth and the consumption of natural resources, giving high priority to preserving and protecting the County’s most important natural resources.
Transportation-related highlights: Pima County is working with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) on its second anniversary of the $2.1 billion transportation plan which includes the development of more than 100 projects. To date, 243 RTA projects have been approved for funding. Of those, 146 projects are under development, 29 are under construction, 60 projects are completed and 8 transit services have been implemented. For all the approved projects, $280.5 million in RTA funding has been committed.
The 20-year regional transportation plan, approved by voters on May 16, 2006, includes road, transit, safety and environmental and economic vitality projects. Planning continues for the RTA’s largest road project, Grant Road, and recently a groundbreaking event celebrated the start of construction of a new bus storage and maintenance facility for Sun Tran buses on a 25-acre site at 3920 Sun Tran Blvd., just north of Prince and east of Interstate 10.
Working with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Pima County also has been involved in the three-year Interstate 10 widening project that is halfway done and on schedule.
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