Navajo County, Arizona

Navajo County was split from Apache County on March 21, 1895. The first county sheriff was Commodore Perry Owens, a legendary gunman who had previously served as the sheriff of Apache County. It was the location for many of the events of the Pleasant Valley War.^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 9,960 square miles (25,800 km²), of which 9,950 square miles (25,800 km²) is land and 9.3 square miles (24 km²) (0.09%) is water.^[4]

Navajo County offers not only the Monument Valley, but Keams Canyon, part of the Petrified Forest National Park, and one of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forests in North America.

Nathan Korhman of The Atlantic described the county, in 2022, as "one of Arizona’s most rural regions", stating that a political canvasser would have to drive to get to a sequential house on a list to target, while in more urban areas such a canvasser would walk from place to place.^[5]

• Apache County – east
• Graham County – south
• Gila County – southwest
• Coconino County – west
• San Juan County, Utah – north

Navajo County has 6,632.73 square miles (17,178.7 km²) of federally designated Indian reservation within its borders, the third most of any county in the United States (neighboring Apache County and Coconino County are first and second). In descending order of territory within the county, the reservations are the Navajo Nation, Hopi Indian Reservation, and Fort Apache Indian Reservation, all of which are partly located within Navajo County.

• Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (part)
• Navajo National Monument
• Petrified Forest National Park (part)

As of the census of 2000, there were 97,470 people, 30,043 households, and 23,073 families living in the county. The population density was 10 inhabitants per square mile (3.9/km²). There were 47,413 housing units at an average density of 5/sq mi (1.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 47.7% Native American, 45.9% White, 0.9% BlackorAfrican American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.2% from other races, and 5.9% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were HispanicorLatino of any race. 24.8% reported speaking Navajo at home, 5.9% other Southern Athabaskan languages, 4.7% Spanish, and 3.2% Hopi.^[11]

There were 30,043 households, out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.68.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 35.4% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,569, and the median income for a family was $32,409. Males had a median income of $30,509 versus $21,621 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,609. About 23.4% of families and 29.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 20.3% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2010, there were 107,449 people, 35,658 households, and 25,923 families living in the county.^[12] The population density was 10.8 inhabitants per square mile (4.2/km²). There were 56,938 housing units at an average density of 5.7 units per square mile (2.2 units/km²).^[13] The racial makeup of the county was 49.3% white, 43.4% American Indian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 3.4% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.8% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 13.7% were German, 12.5% were English, 9.3% were Irish, and 2.3% were American.^[14]

Of the 35,658 households, 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.3% were non-families, and 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.50. The median age was 34.7 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $39,774 and the median income for a family was $45,906. Males had a median income of $41,516 versus $28,969 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,745. About 19.1% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.6% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Navajo County is among the most religiously diverse places in the United States. A 2020 census by the Public Religion Research Institute (unconnected to the official US census) calculates a religious diversity score of 0.876 for Navajo County, where 1 represents complete diversity (each religious group of equal size) and 0 a total lack of diversity. Only three other counties in the US have higher scores, all much more urban than Navajo County.^[16]

Navajo County leans towards the Republican Party. Although its Native American population makes up nearly half of the county, a demographic that politically favors those of the Democratic Party, the county has a strong Latter-Day Saint presence (particularly in population centers such as Snowflake) that normally allows Republican candidates to carry the county by small margins. However, in the 2018 gubernatorial election, the county voted Republican over Democrat by a large margin (56–42%).

School districts that serve the county include:^[19]

There is a tribal elementary school called Little Singer Community School, affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).^[20] Hataalii Yazhi, a medicine man,^[21] in the 1970s proposed establishing the school so area children did not have to travel far for their education.^[22] The school was named after him. The original buildings used two geodesic domes as features.^[21] In 2014 the school had 81 students. By 2014 the original campus was described by the Associated Press as being in poor repair.^[22] In 2004 the school first asked the BIE to get funding for a new building. The current campus had a cost of $28 million and an area of 32,000 square feet (3,000 m²). It uses intersecting circles as an architectural feature.^[21] The current building was dedicated in November 2020.^[23] It is physically in an unincorporated area 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Birdsprings, and has a postal address of Winslow.^[24]

The following public-use airports are located within the county:^[25]

• Cibecue Airport (Z95) – Cibecue
• Holbrook Municipal Airport (P14) – Holbrook
• Kayenta Airport (0V7) – Kayenta
• Polacca Airport (P10) – Polacca
• Show Low Regional Airport (SOW) – Show Low
• Taylor Airport (TYL) – Taylor
• Whiteriver Airport (E24) – Whiteriver
• Winslow–Lindbergh Regional Airport (INW) – Winslow

• Holbrook (county seat)
• Show Low
• Winslow

• Kayenta
• Pinetop-Lakeside
• Snowflake
• Taylor

• Birdsprings
• Oraibi

• Fort Apache Indian Reservation
• Hopi Reservation
• Navajo Nation

• Alchesay Flat, a named flat approximately 7 mi (11 km) north of Whiteriver along Arizona State Route 73.

• Brigham
• Obed
• Sunset
• Wilford
• Zeniff

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Navajo County.^[26][27]

† county seat

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Navajo County, Arizona

• Official county homepage

35°29′52″N 110°17′23″W / 35.49778°N 110.28972°W / 35.49778; -110.28972