Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona, is located in a desert valley just 45 miles from the United States border with Mexico. The city’s name is derived from the Pima and Tohono O’odham name Stjukshon or Chuk Shon, which means the “spring at the base of the black mountain.”

The city had an estimated population of approximately 546,574 in 2022, acccording to the US Census Bureau. Tucson’s population continues to grow. The sun-drenched city blends American Indian, Hispanic, and Western cultures and is known for its spas and saguaro cactus, in addition to a substantial military presence and leading research center at the University of Arizona.

Landscape

Tucson is approximately 100 miles southeast of Phoenix, and 45 miles north of the Mexican border. The city covers about 225 square miles, although the metropolitan area in Pima County is about twice that size. The city is surrounded by five mountain ranges: the Rincon Mountains to the east, the Tucson Mountains to the west, the Santa Catalina and Tortolita Mountains to the north, and the Santa Rita Mountains to the south.

The Catalinas are the largest range and include Mt. Lemmon at just over 8,500 feet—high enough to allow for the a ski resort in nearby Summerhaven. The average elevation in the city is approximately 2,400 feet (730 meters). Average winter temperatures are 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) during the day, and dip to just above freezing at night. Summertime temperatures often hit daytime highs over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), with nighttime respites in the 60s and 70s (15–20 degrees Celsius). Tucson typically sees 300 to 350 days of sun per year, with only about 12 inches of rain—typical rainfall for dry southwestern cities, but in sharp contrast to most major cities in the rest of the southeast. Residents know to protect their parked cars with window shades, otherwise, the desert sun will destroy interior upholstery, particularly dashboards, within a year or two.

The Tucson landscape is dotted with dry riverbeds, including deep channels known as arroyos that can easily sweep away cars during flash floods. Much of the area’s architecture tends toward sprawl, as the sandy soil best lends itself to building out rather than up. American Indian homes were made of adobe—a mix of mud, sand, and water. Many modern homes are typically one-story ranch designs made of brick with relatively flat, tiled roofs. Water is at a premium, and the city encourages the use of native desert landscaping rather than the typical expanses of grass seen in the northern United States.

People

Like most of the Southern “sunbelt,” Tucson is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The city went from the forty-fifth to the thirty-third largest city in the country in the span of twenty years. According to 2022 estimates by the US Census Bureau, the population was 546,574.

Approximately 42.2 percent of the population of Tucson was White in 2022, while 44.8 percent of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino (of any race). African Americans made up 4.8 percent of the population, and 3.2 percent were Asian. American Indians and Alaska Natives made up 3.2 percent. Area tribes include the Tohono O’odham (known for their craftsmanship in basket making) and Pasqua Yaqui Native American Nations.

The median income for a Tucson household between 2018 and 2022 was $52,049, and approximately 19.6 percent of the city’s residents lived in poverty as of 2022.

Arts and entertainment reflect a mix of southwestern culture—country music, rodeos, mariachi bands, Latino festivals, and pow-wows—and cosmopolitan, with dozens of arts groups and galleries and resident symphony, ballet, opera, and theater companies.

While the city’s median age of 33.8 (as of 2012) belies its image as a retirement community, there are still many retired residents, known as “snowbirds,” who migrate to Tucson for the winter months and then return to the northern states in the summer.

Politically, Arizona is dominated by the Republican Party, but Tucson is an exception to that rule. Its large Hispanic population tilts the vote toward the Democrats.

Tucson has won numerous awards for “livability,” including spots on several top-ten lists comparing cost of living, crime rate, education, home prices and culture.

Economy

The US military is one of Tucson’s largest employers. Fort Huachuca is located about 80 miles south/southeast of Tucson. Founded during the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s, the base is now home to the US Army Intelligence Center, and employed over thirteen thousand people as of 2017. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is located within the city limits and employed more than ten thousand people as of 2017. It is home to the famous Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC), a huge expanse of 4,500 decommissioned military planes that sit preserved by the desert climate. The Pima Air and Space Museum offers tours of the site. Raytheon Missile Systems also employs more than ten thousand workers in Tucson.

One of the largest employers within the city is the University of Arizona (UA). Known as a premier medical research center, it also has a strong branch devoted to astronomy and space research. The Tucson region has an abundance of astronomical facilities that take advantage of the clarity of the desert air, including Kitt Peak and Steward Observatory. The city even passed a light pollution ordinance to keep the sky dark enough for ideal stargazing.

The Tohono O’odham Nation has also become a large employer in Tucson, mainly because of its gaming operations, including the Diamond Desert Casino located just south of Tucson.

Mining (mainly copper) and health care are two longstanding foundations of the local economy. The annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show claims to be the largest in the world.

Health care employers include the University Medical Center, Carondelet Health Network, and TMC Healthcare. Tucson is widely known for its spas as well, the most famous probably being Canyon Ranch spa.

Tucson’s image of spas and sun help contribute to a substantial economic boost from tourism. The local economy has generally been so strong that one of Tucson’s biggest problems is sprawl and regulation of growth.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate of the area of Tucson in December 2023 was 3.6 percent, and government and education and health services sectors had the largest number of employees.

Landmarks

Giant Saguaro cacti, found only in the Sonoran Desert, are the hallmark of Tucson. The nearby Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum offers tourists a look at the aged plants, along with various examples of desert wildlife. The city’s Reid Park is a 131-acre urban park that offers shade to residents and an expanse of more than 1,000 rose beds.

Historic landmarks abound in the area, but the best known is probably the Mission San Xavier del Bac. It was erected in 1797 by Spanish Catholic missionaries and is still a working parish for the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Fourth Avenue is unique shopping area in that it grew from the character of the city, rather than from a mall-like vision of corporate America. The shops on Fourth Avenue showcase the bright colors of the southwest.

Sabino Canyon, just northeast of the city in the Santa Catalina Mountains, preserves centuries-old archaeological evidence that the Hohokam Indians took advantage of the protected canyon to hunt and gather fruits and water.

History

Tucson was founded in 1775, at about the same time the United States declared its independence from Britain, but the area was occupied by American Indians as early as 7000 BCE. The Hohokam culture arose in the region beginning in 300 BCE.

In the late 1600s, Spanish missionaries began working to convert the residents of Stjukshon. By 1800 the village was a blend of Spanish, Mexican, and Native Americans, and the Mexican Revolution of 1821 made it a part of Mexico. Soon after, the Gold Rush began in California and spilled over to Tucson, as settlers arrived in the valley.

The United States acquired the area from Mexico in 1854 as part of the Gadsden Purchase. By this time, the influx of settlers had led to skirmishes with the American Indian tribes, particularly the Apache Nation. In 1867 and 1877, Tucson was the capital of the Arizona Territory. Its growth was encouraged by the arrival of the Southern Pacific rail line in the town in 1880, replacing the stagecoach as the sole means of transportation.

By 1900, Tucson has already begun to advertise itself as a spa and health destination. The dry climate was particularly helpful to victims of tuberculosis. Arizona became the forty-eighth state in 1912.

Following World War II, the military retained a substantial presence in the area, and many personnel settled near the city to raise families. Tucson’s population boom was aided greatly by the introduction of affordable window air conditioners. The population exploded from 120,000 in 1950 to 220,000 by 1960.

Trivia

• Tucson experienced record-breaking high temperatures in June 2017, with temperatures exceeding 115 degrees Fahrenheit on three consecutive days from June 19 to 21, 2017. The hottest temperature in the city's history was 117 degrees on June 26, 1990.
• Tucson ties with Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona, as one of the sunniest large cities in the United States.
• Tucson’s “A” mountain at Sentinel Peak has been painted with a giant letter “A” by University of Arizona freshmen every year since 1916.
• Tucson claims to be the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the United States.
• Tucson’s El Charro Café claims to be the oldest family-operated Mexican restaurant in the country.

Bibliography

Devine, David. Tucson: A History of the Old Pueblo from the 1854 Gadsden Purchase. McFarland, 2015.

Harte, John Bret. Tucson: Portrait of a Desert Pueblo. American Historical Press, 2001.

Logan, Michael F. Desert Cities: The Environmental History of Phoenix and Tuscon. U of Pittsburgh P, 2006.

"QuickFacts: Tucson (City), Arizona." US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/tucsoncityarizona/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Sonnichsen, C. L. Tucson: The Life and Times of an American City. Rev. ed., U of Oklahoma P, 1987.

"Tucson, AZ." Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16 Feb. 2024, www.bls.gov/eag/eag.az‗tucson‗msa.htm. Accessed 10 May 2019.

"Tucson, AZ." Census Reporter, 2022, censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0477000-tucson-az/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.