Casa Grande, Arizona

Casa Grande is a city in Pinal County, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. It sits about halfway between the big cities of Phoenix and Tucson. In 2020, more than 53,000 people lived there, and by 2024, the number grew to around 68,927. By 2025, the city's population was about 70,156.

The city gets its name from the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is actually found in the nearby town of Coolidge. In the local O'odham language, Casa Grande is called Wainom Wo:g. The name "Casa Grande" means "big house" in Spanish. People in the city don't always agree on how to say the name out loud.

Casa Grande is a growing community that offers a mix of rural charm and modern living. It is a place where families and individuals have made their homes, enjoying the sunny skies and warm weather that Arizona is known for.

History

Casa Grande was founded in 1879 during a time when many people were looking for gold in Arizona. It started as a small place called Terminus, meaning "end-of-the-line," with just five people and three buildings. Later, it was renamed Casa Grande after nearby ancient ruins. The town faced hard times with fires and when the gold rush slowed down, but it survived because of farming and officially became a city in 1915.

During a difficult time in history 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 created a baseball field. Today, Casa Grande still remembers its baseball history with a special pool shaped like a bat and ball.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Casa Grande covers an area of 113.903 square miles (295.01 km²), and it is all land.

Climate

Casa Grande has a hot desert climate, typical for the Sonoran Desert. The city has long, very hot summers and short, mild winters with cool evenings. Like other parts of southern Arizona, Casa Grande can experience dust storms and, during the summer, 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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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

The economy of Casa Grande used to rely on farming, like growing cotton and raising dairy cows. Today, many people from Phoenix and Tucson have homes in Casa Grande and travel to work in those bigger cities. This has helped grow many new services like restaurants and shops in Casa Grande.

A big shopping area called The Promenade at Casa Grande opened in 2007. It is an open-air mall built 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 provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the City of Casa Grande. They operate from 4 Fire Stations and an Administrative Headquarters.

The department covers an area of 109.65 square miles and serves over 60,000 residents.

Library

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

City Court

The Casa Grande Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the city's government. In the fiscal year 2006–2007, it handled 6,609 filings, conducted 2,486 arraignments, and held 156 civil, criminal, and jury 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 the WBC Interim Middleweight 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 several 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 also help people travel around.

The city of Coolidge runs a bus service called Central Arizona Regional Transit (CART) that goes between Florence, Coolidge, Central Arizona College, and Casa Grande. Greyhound buses also 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.