Maricopa Seeds of Change
Maricopa
Maricopa County is located in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of July 2008, its population was 3,954,598, which ranks fourth among the nation's counties and is greater than the population of 24 states. The county seat is Phoenix, which is Arizona's largest city and capital. The center of population of Arizona is located in Maricopa County, in the town of Gilbert. It is by far Arizona's most populous county, encompassing well more than half of the state's residents.
The population explosion is evident in a 2007 Forbes study which ranked four of Maricopa County's municipalities in the top ten fastest-growing cities in the nation. Those included Buckeye as the 2nd-fastest-growing city, Surprise and Goodyear as 3rd and 4th, and Avondale as 9th. All four of these cities are located in the booming "West Valley" which is the area of Maricopa County to the west of the city of Phoenix.
There are five Indian reservations located in the county. The largest of these are the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (East of Scottsdale) and the Gila River Indian Community (South of Phoenix), both of which have casino gambling.
Maricopa Politics
Maricopa County has a long history of being a Republican Party stronghold. While the city of Phoenix leans Democratic, along with some other small areas within the county, the rest of the county tends to vote heavily Republican. Every Republican presidential candidate has carried Maricopa County since 1948. This includes the 1964 presidential run of native son Barry Goldwater; who would not have even carried his own state had it not been for a 21,000-vote margin in Maricopa County. In 2008, the county was the most populous in the nation to be won by John McCain over Barack Obama.
Despite its Republican lean, Maricopa County voted against Proposition 107 in the 2006 election. This referendum, designed to ban gay marriage and restrict domestic partner benefits, was rejected by a slim 51.6%-48.4% margin within the county. Maricopa County made the difference statewide, as Arizona became the first state to reject a gay marriage ban by a 51.8%-48.2% margin that year. In 2008, a majority of Maricopa County residents voted to pass the ultimately successful state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Maricopa Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,072,149 people, 1,132,886 households, and 763,565 families residing in the county. The population density was 334 people per square mile (129/km²). There were 1,250,231 housing units at an average density of 136/sq mi (52/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.35% White, 3.73% African American, 1.85% Native American, 2.16% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 11.86% from other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. 29.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.10% reported speaking Spanish at home.
There were 1,132,886 households out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.21.