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Greenlee County
Greenlee County
County
	Benjamin F. Billingsley House in Duncan, Arizona
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Arizona
	Arizona's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 33°06′06″N 109°16′07″W / 33.1017°N 109.2686°W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Founded	March 10, 1909
Named for	Mason Greenlee
Seat	Clifton
Largest town	Clifton
Area
• Total	1,848 sq mi (4,790 km2)
• Land	1,843 sq mi (4,770 km2)
• Water	5.3 sq mi (14 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,563
• Estimate (2023)	9,369
• Density	5.2/sq mi (2.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
Congressional district	6th
Website	www.co.greenlee.az.us

Azurite specimen from the great Morenci Mine.

Greenlee County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,563,^[1] making it Arizona's least populous county. The county seat is Clifton.

The economy of Greenlee County is dominated by the Morenci Mine, the largest copper mining operation in North America, and one of the largest copper mines in the world. As of 2017^[update], the mine complex, owned by Freeport-McMoRan, had about 3,300 employees.^{[citation needed]}

History

Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee who was an early settler in the Clifton area. It was Arizona's 14th county and formed from part of Graham County, which opposed the formation because Graham County would lose considerable revenue. Clifton has always been the county seat.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,848 square miles (4,790 km²), of which 1,843 square miles (4,770 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[2] It is the second-smallest county by area in Arizona.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (part)
Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area (part)

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	15,362		—
1930	9,886		−35.6%
1940	8,698		−12.0%
1950	12,805		47.2%
1960	11,509		−10.1%
1970	10,330		−10.2%
1980	11,406		10.4%
1990	8,008		−29.8%
2000	8,547		6.7%
2010	8,437		−1.3%
2020	9,563		13.3%
2023 (est.)	9,369	^[3]	−2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[4] 1790–1960^[5] 1900–1990^[6] 1990–2000^[7] 2010–2020^[1]

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,437 people, 3,188 households, and 2,152 families living in the county.^[8] The population density was 4.6 inhabitants per square mile (1.8 inhabitants/km²). There were 4,372 housing units at an average density of 2.4 units per square mile (0.93 units/km²).^[9] The racial makeup of the county was 77.2% white, 2.3% American Indian, 1.1% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 15.0% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 47.9% of the population.^[8] In terms of ancestry, 12.9% were English, 12.1% were German, 10.6% were Irish, and 1.6% were American.^[10]

Of the 3,188 households, 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.5% were non-families, and 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age was 34.8 years.^[8]

The median income for a household in the county was $48,696 and the median income for a family was $51,729. Males had a median income of $50,446 versus $34,171 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,281. About 9.4% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.^[11]

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,547 people, 3,117 households, and 2,266 families living in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (1.9 people/km²). There were 3,744 housing units at an average density of 2 units per square mile (0.77 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.2% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 20.0% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. 43.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.2% reported speaking Spanish at home.^[12]

There were 3,117 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,384, and the median income for a family was $43,523. Males had a median income of $38,952 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,814. About 8.0% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Greenlee County used to be the most reliably Democratic county in Arizona, owing to the presence of the copper mining industry. As the county was heavily unionized and the Democratic Party was generally the party of organized labor, Greenlee County voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election from the state's admission to the Union in 1912 to 1996, being one of only seven Mountain State counties to support George McGovern in his landslide defeat against Republican Richard Nixon in 1972.^[a] Even Ronald Reagan was unable to win it in his 49 state landslide in 1984. However, in 2000, George W. Bush became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the county, and it has voted for the Republican nominee in the five elections since, giving Donald Trump 66% of the vote in 2020. The county's turn to the GOP can likely be explained by the Democratic Party's modern platform of environmentalism that has been perceived as anti-mining (for example, Bush's 2000 opponent, Al Gore, was staunchly against coal mining).^[13]^[14]

United States presidential election results for Greenlee County, Arizona^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,308	69.60%	954	28.77%	54	1.63%
2020	2,433	65.83%	1,182	31.98%	81	2.19%
2016	1,892	57.33%	1,092	33.09%	316	9.58%
2012	1,592	53.32%	1,310	43.87%	84	2.81%
2008	1,712	58.63%	1,165	39.90%	43	1.47%
2004	1,899	61.92%	1,146	37.37%	22	0.72%
2000	1,619	54.70%	1,216	41.08%	125	4.22%
1996	1,159	34.16%	1,755	51.72%	479	14.12%
1992	1,451	36.34%	1,695	42.45%	847	21.21%
1988	1,526	46.21%	1,733	52.48%	43	1.30%
1984	1,801	47.58%	1,963	51.86%	21	0.55%
1980	1,537	40.64%	2,043	54.02%	202	5.34%
1976	1,532	36.07%	2,601	61.24%	114	2.68%
1972	1,758	45.57%	2,013	52.18%	87	2.26%
1968	1,026	27.35%	2,434	64.89%	291	7.76%
1964	1,132	26.45%	3,147	73.55%	0	0.00%
1960	1,313	29.94%	3,069	69.97%	4	0.09%
1956	1,784	39.69%	2,711	60.31%	0	0.00%
1952	1,377	31.32%	3,019	68.68%	0	0.00%
1948	680	22.97%	2,069	69.88%	212	7.16%
1944	739	27.33%	1,956	72.34%	9	0.33%
1940	619	22.08%	2,175	77.60%	9	0.32%
1936	218	12.31%	1,526	86.17%	27	1.52%
1932	377	19.29%	1,558	79.73%	19	0.97%
1928	685	42.08%	935	57.43%	8	0.49%
1924	404	29.97%	768	56.97%	176	13.06%
1920	905	44.45%	1,131	55.55%	0	0.00%
1916	672	28.79%	1,492	63.92%	170	7.28%
1912	109	9.28%	652	55.54%	413	35.18%