Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cottonwood had a population of 12,029. It is located on the Verde River. History As settlers arrived in the area, an abundance of cottonwood trees near the Verde River served as a meeting place for travelers. Horses rested there before their journey up the mountains, and travellers would camp here. This location would become the center of Cottonwood. A post office was established in 1885. Main Street in Cottonwood was created 1908, when two settlers "used a mule team to pull and drag through brush". In 1917, Clemenceau, a mining town that is now part of Cottonwood, was established nearby. The Clemenceau smelter closed in 1936, causing job loses and a disruption to the area. Cottonwood incorporated in 1960.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate Cottonwood has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) almost warm enough to be a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). In January the average high temperature is with a low of . In July the average high temperature is with a low of . Annual rainfall is approximately , with a range from in the "rain year" from July 2020 to June 2021, up to as much as between July 1972 and June 1973, and in calendar year 1965. The wettest single month has been October 1972 with , and the wettest single day September 17, 1925 with .

Snowfall is rare, with a 1991 to 2020 median of a trace and mean of ; the most snow in one month has been in December 1967, but no other month has had more than . Frosts, however, are common: an average of 67 mornings fall below freezing each winter, although only three afternoons – January 20, 1935, January 6, 1971 and December 31, 2010 – have ever failed to top freezing. The lowest temperature ever record has been on January 13, 1963. Summer expects 126 afternoons at or above and 42 at or above ; the hottest temperature recorded is on June 26, 1994.

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Cottonwood had a population of 12,029. The median age was 52.4 years. 17.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 32.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.7 males age 18 and over.

98.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,696 households in Cottonwood, of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 34.6% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 6,174 housing units, of which 7.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 9,313 77.4% Black or African American 85 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 162 1.3% Asian 110 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 20 0.2% Some other race 965 8.0% Two or more races 1,374 11.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,717 22.6%

2000 census At the 2000 census there were 9,179 people, 3,983 households and 2,369 families in the city. The population density was . There were 4,427 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.2% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 20.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 3,983 households 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female as Head of Household with no Husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.4% of households were one person and 19.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.90.

The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median household income was $27,444 and the median family income was $37,794. Males had a median income of $24,308 versus $19,977 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,518. About 8.9% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Civil unions The city became one of the Arizona municipalities to approve of civil unions for same-sex partners. Arts and culture The Cottonwood Public Library is part of the Yavapai County Library Network and serves the city of Cottonwood along with surrounding cities including Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Jerome, Rimrock and unincorporated areas of the Verde Valley in Yavapai County.

The Verde Valley Fairgrounds host the annual Verde Valley Fair in Cottonwood.

Education Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District operates public schools.

Infrastructure The city is served by Cottonwood Airport, a general aviation facility. It also has a public transit system, Cottonwood Area Transit (CAT), which operates in Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Verde Village. CAT also operates the Vedre Shuttle, which connects Cottonwood with Sedona. The Town of Jerome runs a shuttle between the towns on Wednesdays.

Notable people Frederick Henry Ball – American movie studio executive and younger brother of Lucille Ball. Junior Brown – country singer and guitarist Ambyr Childers – actress Fred P. Lewis – U.S. Air Force; born in Cottonwood Ray Manley – photographer June Miller – Second wife of writer Henry Miller John Pedersen – arms designer, known for the Pedersen device Alvie Self – singer, member of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Max Terhune – actor (1891–1973)

See also List of historic properties in Cottonwood, Arizona

References

External links

City of Cottonwood Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce