Casa Grande, Arizona

History

Casa Grande was founded in 1879 during the Arizona mining boom due to the presence of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In January 1880, the community of Terminus, meaning "end-of-the-line," was established with just five residents and three buildings. In September 1880, railroad executives renamed the settlement Casa Grande after nearby Hohokam ruins with the same name. Casa Grande grew slowly and suffered several setbacks both in 1886 and 1893 when fires ravaged the town, destroying all wooden housing structures within. When the mining boom slowed in the 1890s, the town was nearly abandoned, but, with the advent of agriculture, the town survived and was incorporated in 1915.

One of the founding fathers of Casa Grande was Thompson Rodney Peart. Notable fixtures of Casa Grande like Peart Road, Peart Park, and the Peart Center are named after him.

Casa Grande was home to one of the Farm Security Administration's collective farm societies.

From 1942 to 1945, a Japanese-American relocation camp known as the Gila River War Relocation Center was set up outside of Casa Grande. Notable internees included future actor Pat Morita and baseball player Kenichi Zenimura who constructed a baseball field and set up a league in the relocation camp.

Casa Grande is home to the Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort, a former spring training location for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants' then owner, Horace Stoneham, began developing the property in 1959. The first exhibition game was played in Casa Grande in 1961 with Willie Mays hitting a 375 ft home run. The Giants no longer play at Francisco Grande, but the baseball bat and ball shaped pool remains in memory of the past ballgames.

During the Cold War, Casa Grande was the location of the Casa Grande Photogrammetric Test Range. These targets consisted of concrete arrows located in and to the south of the city which calibrated aerial cartographic cameras.

Casa Grande has also played a prominent role in semi-professional and collegiate baseball. The Casa Grande Cotton Kings, founded in 1948, qualified to play in the National Baseball Congress World Series ten straight times by winning Arizona state championships in the 1940s and 1950s and were reactivated in the 2000s. They are now members of the Pacific Southwest Baseball League.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 113.903 sqmi, all land.

Climate

Casa Grande has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), typical for the Sonoran Desert. The city experiences long, extremely hot summers and brief winters consisting of mild afternoons and chilly evenings. Along with the rest of southern Arizona, the community is prone to dust storms and, in the summer months, is affected by the North American Monsoon which brings high winds and heavy rain.

|Jan record high F = 89 |Feb record high F = 93 |Mar record high F = 100 |Apr record high F = 106 |May record high F = 116 |Jun record high F = 123 |Jul record high F = 123 |Aug record high F = 120 |Sep record high F = 117 |Oct record high F = 111 |Nov record high F = 97 |Dec record high F = 89

|Jan avg record high F = 78.8 |Feb avg record high F = 82.7 |Mar avg record high F = 90.8 |Apr avg record high F = 99.2 |May avg record high F = 106.8 |Jun avg record high F = 113.9 |Jul avg record high F = 114.8 |Aug avg record high F = 113.1 |Sep avg record high F = 108.9 |Oct avg record high F = 102.0 |Nov avg record high F = 89.9 |Dec avg record high F = 79.1 |year avg record high F = 116.1

|Jan avg record low F = 26.1 |Feb avg record low F = 29.0 |Mar avg record low F = 33.6 |Apr avg record low F = 38.5 |May avg record low F = 46.5 |Jun avg record low F = 56.3 |Jul avg record low F = 66.5 |Aug avg record low F = 66.7 |Sep avg record low F = 56.6 |Oct avg record low F = 42.7 |Nov avg record low F = 29.1 |Dec avg record low F = 25.7 |year avg record low F = 23.0

|Jan record low F = 8 |Feb record low F = 11 |Mar record low F = 21 |Apr record low F = 25 |May record low F = 32 |Jun record low F = 44 |Jul record low F = 51 |Aug record low F = 55 |Sep record low F = 37 |Oct record low F = 25 |Nov record low F = 17 |Dec record low F = 14

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2020 Census

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

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

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (74.5%), Spanish (22.5%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.4%), and Other (0.5%).

The median age in the city was 37.8 years.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 53,658 people, 19,777 households, 13,934 families residing in the city. The population density was 483.98 PD/sqmi. There were 23,512 housing units at an average density of 212.07 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 56.42% White, 4.90% African American, 4.20% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 15.38% from some other races and 16.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 40.20% of the population.

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 PD/sqmi. There were 22,400 housing units at an average density of 203.45 /sqmi. 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.

There were 17,651 households, of which _% had children under the age of 18 living with them, _% were married couples living together, _% had a female householder with no husband present, _% had a male householder with no wife present, and _% were non-families. _% of all households were made up of individuals, and _% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was _ and the average family size was _.

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.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 25,224 people, 8,920 households, and 6,547 families residing in the city. The population density was 523.7 PD/sqmi. There were 11,041 housing units at an average density of 229.2 /sqmi. 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 was historically based on rural, agricultural industries, such as cotton and dairy farms. Over time, the city has become home to many Phoenix or Tucson urbanites who own homes in Casa Grande. Most residents either commute north to work in the Phoenix metropolitan area, or to the south, to work in Tucson. This trend has contributed to growth in the service industry of Casa Grande. Many new businesses such as restaurants, gas stations, and retail outlets are opening throughout the city in order to keep up with demand from the growing population.

A retail shopping mall operates in southern Casa Grande. Phase one of The Promenade at Casa Grande opened on November 16, 2007. Built by Westcor and the Pederson Group, it is similar to Desert Ridge Marketplace (an outdoor shopping center in northeast Phoenix). The Promenade at Casa Grande is an outdoor mall, built on a 100 acre patch of desert, and contains nearly a million square feet. An additional $11 million was spent by the city to fund the reconstruction of the Florence Blvd./I-10 freeway overpass.

Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy operates a major dairy processing facility in the town that opened in 2013 and employs about 110 people.

Top Employers

According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

Electric Cars

On November 29, 2016, officials from the state and the Lucid Motors car company announced a $700 million manufacturing plant would be constructed in Casa Grande that would employ up to 2,000 workers by 2022. The Lucid car manufacturing plant opened in November 2020.

News

• Casa Grande Valley Newspapers

Fire Department

The Casa Grande Fire Department (CGFD), ISO Class 2, provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the City of Casa Grande. The Casa Grande Fire Department operates out of 4 Fire Stations and an Administrative Headquarters at the Public Safety Building.

CGFD is serving 109.65 square miles with over 60,000 residents.

Dave Kean is the Fire Chief for the City of Casa Grande. In 2021-22 Chief Kean led the fight for the City to form their own ambulance transportation service and obtain a “Certificate of Necessity” from the Arizona Department of Health. This allowed the CGFD to expand by 26 members. Just prior to that he had added a full-time Ladder company (12 new firefighters) to the Department.

In 2023, Chief Kean got funding for a new Fire Station 503 at a cost over $13.4 million dollars. This is the first new fire facility in over 14 years.

Library

The Casa Grande Public Library provides the standard services of access to reading materials, as well as some special services, including a volunteer reading club for elementary school, internet access, and a talking book program. The main library is 16000 sqft, provides 75,000 volumes, and provides 38 public access computers with internet access. The Vista Grande Public Library, a branch of the Casa Grande Library System, opened in the summer of 2009.

City Court

The Casa Grande Municipal Court is the judicial branch of Casa Grande City government and accepted 6,609 filings, conducted 2,486 arraignments and held 156 civil, criminal and jury trials in Fiscal Year 2006–2007.

Notable people

• Mike Candrea, UA Softball Coach, Olympic Softball Coach
• Eduardo C. Corral, award-winning poet and teacher
• Fred Enke, University of Arizona basketball, football and golf coach
• Fred Enke, Jr., professional football quarterback and cotton farmer
• Pablo Francisco, stand-up comedian
• Pedro E. Guerrero, photographer
• Jesus Ramos Jr., Boxer - super welterweight the WBC Interim Middleweight Champion
• Joe Jonas, pop singer, musician, actor, and dancer
• Joy Oladokun, singer-songwriter
• Lewis Storey, singer-songwriter
• Michael Sullivan, stonemason who built many structures of fieldstone in Casa Grande
• Alex Torres, guitarist

Education

Most of Casa Grande is in the Casa Grande Elementary School District, while a portion is in the Toltec Elementary School District. All of Casa Grande is in the Casa Grande Union High School District.

The following schools are located in Casa Grande. Public Elementary

• Cottonwood Elementary School
• Saguaro Elementary School
• Center for Online and Innovative Learning (COIL)
• Ironwood Elementary School
• Cholla Elementary School
• Palo Verde Elementary School
• Mesquite Elementary School
• Desert Willow Elementary School
• McCartney Ranch Elementary School Public Middle School
• Casa Grande Middle School
• Cactus Middle School
• Villago Middle School Public High School
• Casa Grande Union High School
• PACE (Pathways Accelerating Career Experiences)
• Vista Grande High School Charter High School
• Pinnacle Charter High School
• Casa Verde High School
• ASU Preparatory Academy, Casa Grande
• Mission Heights Preparatory High School
• PPEP TEC High School Charter Schools
• Grande Innovation Academy
• Legacy Traditional School Private
• St Anthony of Padua Catholic School (Private)
• Logos Christian Academy (Private) Colleges
• Central Arizona College
• Northern Arizona University (Extended Learning Campus)

Transportation

These highways serve Casa Grande.

• [[File:I-8 (AZ).svg|20px|link= |alt=]] Interstate 8
• [[File:I-10 (AZ).svg|20px|link= |alt=]] Interstate 10
• [[File:I-11.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] the proposed Interstate 11 would begin in Casa Grande and end in Las Vegas, Nevada
• [[File:Arizona 287.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] Arizona State Route 287
• [[File:Arizona 84.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] Arizona State Route 84
• [[File:Arizona 387.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] Arizona State Route 387

The City of Coolidge operates Central Arizona Regional Transit (CART), which provides transportation between Florence, Coolidge, Central Arizona College and Casa Grande. Greyhound serves Casa Grande from a stop in Eloy.

Casa Grande Municipal Airport serves the city but it lacks commercial airline service. The closest major airports to Casa Grande with commercial airlines are Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Tucson International Airport. Casa Grande Shuttle provides an airport shuttle to Sky Harbor.

References

References

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