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Nogales, Arizona

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Nogales, Santa Cruz Co. Showing boundary line between Arizona and Sonora. General view of center of town from hillside, looking west along International Street, ca. 1898-99.
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Nogales, Santa Cruz Co. Showing boundary line between Arizona and Sonora. General view of center of town from hillside, looking west along International Street, ca. 1898-99.

Location of Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 20,878 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County[Geographic references#6GR6].

Nogales, Arizona, borders the city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and is Arizona's largest international border town.

The city is known in O'odham (Papago) as No-wa:l.

Geography

Nogales is located at [31°21′14″N, 110°56′21″W] (31.354007, -110.939222)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.9 km² (20.8 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 20,878 people, 5,985 households, and 4,937 families residing in the city. The population density was 387.0/km² (1,002.1/mi²). There were 6,501 housing units at an average density of 120.5/km² (312.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.83% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 17.97% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. 93.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,985 households out of which 47.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 21.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. 15.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,306, and the median income for a family was $24,637. Males had a median income of $24,636 versus $18,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,178. About 30.8% of families and 33.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.2% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Natives

Trivia

The Santa Cruz County Historical Courthouse on Morley Street/Court Street has the statue of Lady Justice on top of the building. Lady Justice is supposed to have a blindfold on holding the scales of justice. This symbolizes that justice is blind. The Nogales version of Lady Justice is not wearing a blindfold.

The name "Nogales" is derived from the Spanish word for "Walnut" or "Walnut tree." It refers to the large stands of walnut trees that once stood in the mountain pass where Nogales is located.

Nogales, Arizona was the filming location for the motion picture version of the musical "Oklahoma" (1955). Nogales was chosen because the it looked more like turn-of-the-century Oklahoma (when the musical is set) more than anywhere in Oklahoma did at that time. Oklahoma itself had apparently become far too developed by 1955. Nogales, Arizona was made an "honorary" part of the state of Oklahoma for the duration of the film shoot by order of the governor of Arizona.

Nogales was also known as Isaacson. In 1880, Russian immigrant Jacob Isaacson built a trading post at present-day Nogales. The U.S. Postal Service opened the Isaacson Post Office but renamed it to Nogales in 1883.

External links

 


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