Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in
Coconino County in northern
Arizona, in the west of the
United States. As of the
2000 census, the city had a total population of 52,894. It is the
county seat, an important railroad town and home to
Lowell Observatory and Northern Arizona University. The city is the
county seat of
Coconino County6.
Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau and along the western side of the largest stand of ponderosa pine in the United States at an elevation around 7,000 feet. Humphreys Peak, an ancient
volcano and the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet, is immediately north of Flagstaff in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness Area of the San Francisco Mountain range. Old "
Route 66" (now
Interstate 40) runs through Flagstaff between
Los Angeles, California and the cities to the east and connects to the northern end of
Interstate 17 which runs about a two and one-half hour drive south to end at
Phoenix, Arizona.
Besides winter
snow skiing at the Arizona Snow Bowl lodge south of Humphreys Peak, nearby tourist attractions include Walnut Canyon National Park, Sunset Crater National Monument (volcano) and
Barringer Crater (meteor crater), while
Grand Canyon National Park (about an one hour drive north) and Lake Powell National Recreation Area (about a three hour drive) further up the
Colorado River from the Grand Canyon are not far away either.
Weather in Flagstaff is very diverse with moderate summers and cold winters. Suprisingly, summer nights occasionally fall near freezing while day time highs reach beyond the upper 80s. Rain averages around 22 inches per year not to mention plenty of snow in the winter.
Geography
\nFlagstaff is located at 35°11'57" North, 111°37'52" West (35.199160, -111.630991)1.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 164.8
km² (63.6
mi²). 164.7 km² (63.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.06% water.
Demographics
\nAs of the census2 of
2000, there are 52,894 people, 19,306 households, and 11,602 families residing in the city. The
population density is 321.2/km² (831.9/mi²). There are 21,396 housing units at an average density of 129.9/km² (336.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 77.92%
White, 1.75%
Black or
African American, 9.99%
Native American, 1.25%
Asian, 0.12%
Pacific Islander, 6.05% from
other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. 16.07% of the population are
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There are 19,306 households out of which 32.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% are married couples living together, 11.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% are non-families. 23.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 21.7% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $37,146, and the median income for a family is $48,427. Males have a median income of $31,973 versus $24,591 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,637. 17.4% of the population and 10.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 17.6% are under the age of 18 and 7.0% are 65 or older.