Town of Sahuarita

As one of Arizona's fastest-growing communities, the Town of Sahuarita is the newest jurisdiction in Pima County, incorporated in 1994. The Town of Sahuarita's population has increased 622 percent during the period from the 2000 Census through July 2008. The population forecast for 2012 is 33,463.

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Currently 30 square miles, Sahuarita is located just 15 minutes south of Tucson and approximately 40 minutes north of the Mexican border.

The retail trading area is estimated to be 70,000 people in 2008; the forecast is for approximately 140,000 people by 2015 and close to 250,000 people by 2030. Transportation access is convenient with Interstate 19, part of the CANAMEX Corridor, running from Tucson through Sahuarita to the Mexican border. The Union Pacific Railroad also operates a north/south line through the eastern area of the town connecting importers and exporters with products and transportation services in Canada, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America.

Major employers in the area include Freeport McMoRan and ASARCO (copper mining), Farmer's Investment Company (FICO), Climax Technology Center, La Posada, Fry’s Marketplace, Safeway, Super Wal-Mart, and Bashas'. There is a small light industrial park on Duval Mine Road and business parks are in the evaluation/planning stages. Carondelet has purchased land and will be announcing in Spring, 2009, the specific types of ambulatory services that will become available in Sahuarita, serving the regional area.

New residents are primarily young families with children. The town has conducted three annual surveys of residents to begin identifying the skills of its expanding workforce. Respondents to the survey are well educated -- 53.2 percent have a college, master's, and/or doctoral degree. They are highly skilled and employed as professional managers, administrators, service providers, engineers, and health-care providers. A longer-term economic development goal is to be able to provide jobs within the town for residents and others commensurate with their skill and educational levels.

In 2008, the Sahuarita Unified School District accommodated more than 4,700 students on its K-12 campus with a forecast to grow to 8,000 students by 2011. An additional K-8 school opened in January, 2007.