Casa Grande, Arizona

Casa Grande is a city in Pinal County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about halfway between the big cities of Phoenix and Tucson.

The city is named after the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is located in the nearby town of Coolidge. In the local O'odham language, the city is called Wainom Wo:g. The name “Casa Grande” means “big house” in Spanish.

Casa Grande is a growing community. It combines rural charm with modern living. Many families and individuals live there, enjoying the sunny skies and warm weather that Arizona is known for.

History

Casa Grande was founded in 1879 when people were searching for gold in Arizona. It began as a small place called Terminus, meaning "end-of-the-line," with only five people and three buildings. Later, it was renamed Casa Grande after nearby ancient ruins. The town had tough times with fires and when the gold rush slowed, but it survived with farming and became a city in 1915.

During a difficult time from 1942 to 1945, a place for Japanese-American families was set up just outside Casa Grande. Some famous people, like actor Pat Morita and baseball player Kenichi Zenimura, lived there and even made a baseball field. Today, Casa Grande remembers its baseball history with a special pool shaped like a bat and ball.

Geography

The city of Casa Grande covers an area of 113.903 square miles (295.01 km²). It is all land.

Climate

Casa Grande has a hot desert climate, like the Sonoran Desert. The city has long, very hot summers and short, mild winters. Casa Grande can sometimes have dust storms. In summer, it feels effects from the North American Monsoon, which brings strong winds and heavy rain.

Demographics

According to realtor website Zillow, the average price of a home in Casa Grande as of June 30, 2025, was $321,915.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are about 20,816 households in Casa Grande, with an average of 2.75 people per household. The city has a median household income of $66,354. About 14.1% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Casa Grande has an estimated employment rate of 56.8%, with 21.1% of people holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.1% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries were English (74.5%), Spanish (22.5%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.4%), and Other (0.5%).

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Casa Grande had a population of 53,667 and 19,777 households, of which 13,934 were families; the population density was 483.98 inhabitants per square mile (186.9/km²).

There were 23,512 housing units at an average density of 212.07 per square mile (81.9/km²), of which 15.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.7%.

Among all households, 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Married-couple households accounted for 49.7%, households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present made up 16.5%, and households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present comprised 26.2%. About 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 40.1 years; 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.5 males.

91.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 9.0% lived in rural areas.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 48,571 people, 17,651 households, and _ families living in the city. The population density was 441.15 inhabitants per square mile (170.3/km²). There were 22,400 housing units at an average density of 203.45 per square mile (78.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.30% White, 4.62% African American, 4.60% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 16.37% from some other races and 5.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 38.98% of the population.

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The median age in the city was _ years. _% of residents were under the age of 18; _% were between the ages of 18 and 24; _% were from 25 to 44; _% were from 45 to 64; and _% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was _% male and _% female.^{[citation needed]}

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 26,224 people, 8,920 households, and 6,547 families residing in the city. The population density was 523.7 inhabitants per square mile (202.2/km²). There were 11,041 housing units at an average density of 229.2 per square mile (88.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.90% White, 4.27% African American, 4.91% Native American, 1.17% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 21.09% from some other races and 3.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 39.13% of the population.

There were 8,920 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,212, and the median income for a family was $40,827. Males had a median income of $34,858 versus $23,533 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,917. About 12.4% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Casa Grande used to have an economy based on farming, like growing cotton and raising dairy cows. Now, many people from Phoenix and Tucson have homes in Casa Grande and go to work in those bigger cities. This has helped create new services such as restaurants and shops in Casa Grande.

A big shopping area named The Promenade at Casa Grande opened in 2007. It is an open-air mall on a large piece of desert land. There is also a major dairy factory in the town that helps provide jobs. In 2016, a company called Lucid Motors announced plans to build a car factory in Casa Grande, which opened in 2020.

News

• Casa Grande Valley Newspapers

Fire Department

The Casa Grande Fire Department helps keep the city safe. They put out fires and give medical help to people who need it.

They work from 4 fire stations and one main office.

The area they cover is 109.65 square miles, and they help more than 60,000 people.

Library

The Casa Grande Public Library has many services for readers. You can borrow books, join a reading club for elementary school students, use the internet, and listen to a talking book program. The main library building is 16,000 square feet (1,500 m²) and has 75,000 books. It also has 38 computers with internet access. There is a smaller branch called the Vista Grande Public Library, which opened in summer of 2009.

City Court

The Casa Grande Municipal Court is part of the city's government. It helps solve problems and make decisions for the city. In 2006–2007, the court dealt with many cases and trials.

Notable people

Casa Grande has been home to many interesting people. Some of them are Mike Candrea, who coached softball at the University of Arizona and for the Olympic team. There is also Eduardo C. Corral, an award-winning poet and teacher.

Other notable individuals include Pablo Francisco, a famous stand-up comedian, and Joe Jonas, a pop singer, musician, actor, and dancer. Additionally, Jesus Ramos Jr. was a boxer who became a champion.

Education

Most of Casa Grande is part of the Casa Grande Elementary School District, and some parts belong to the Toltec Elementary School District. The whole city is served by the Casa Grande Union High School District.

The following schools are in Casa Grande.

Transportation

Casa Grande is connected by important roads, including Interstate 8, Interstate 10, and the planned Interstate 11 which will start here and go to Las Vegas, Nevada. Other roads like Arizona State Route 287, Arizona State Route 84, and Arizona State Route 387 help people travel around.

The city of Coolidge has a bus service called Central Arizona Regional Transit (CART). It goes between Florence, Coolidge, Central Arizona College, and Casa Grande. Greyhound buses stop in Eloy to serve Casa Grande.

There is an airport in Casa Grande called Casa Grande Municipal Airport, but it does not have airplanes from big airlines. The nearest big airports are Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Tucson International Airport. A shuttle service called Casa Grande Shuttle can take people from Casa Grande to Sky Harbor.