Counties of Arizona

There are 15 counties in the State of Arizona. Four counties (Mohave, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma) were created in 1564 following the reorganization of Arizona Territory in 1561. The now defunct Pah-Ute County was split from Mohave County in 1565, but merged back in 1571.

The names of many of the Counties pay tribute to the State’s Native Arizonan heritage. Nine of the fifteen Counties are named after various Native groups that are resident in parts of what is now Arizona. Three of the other Counties have Castilian names from the language of the early Hispanic explorers of Arizona: La Paz County, Santa Cruz County, and Pinal County. Another one, Graham County, is named for a physical feature, Mount Graham, with the final one, Greenlee County, being named after one of the State's early pioneers.

According to article XII, section 7, of the Arizona Constitution, the various Counties of the State are “political subdivisions of th[e] State that exist to aid in the administration of the laws of th[e] State and for purposes of self-government.”

Arizona’s postal abbreviation is AZ and its FIPS code is 04.

Alphabetical listing

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County government
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Board of Supervisors
In Arizona, the county Board of Supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government.

Similar to a city or town council, the county Board of Supervisors has legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial powers. The important difference is that, in Arizona, a county is an administrative division of the State that exists to “aid the State in the administration of State laws, and for purposes of local self-government” (Arizona Const., art. XII, sec. 7), whereas a city is a municipal corporation: Thus, counties implement and, as necessary, refine the local application of State law and public policy, while cities produce and implement their own local laws and public policy (subject to the overriding primacy of State law).

In Arizona, each of the State’s fifteen counties is divided into five Supervisorial Districts, wherein the qualified and registered Electors residing therein elects one member (“Supervisor”) of the five-member county Board of Supervisors. Once the election is certified, and the new or returning Supervisors are seated and assembled, they proceed to elect one of their number as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the duration of the four-year term of the Board; and, just as the other four Supervisors, the Chairman retains his ability to vote on all matters coming before the Board of Supervisors.

County-Manager
The County-Manager is the chief administrative officer of the County, and as such, is equivalent to an executive head of government. In each County, the County-Manager appoints, subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors, the Heads of those County agencies not filled by election (e.g., all County agencies other than the Sheriff, County-Attorney, Recorder, Assessor, Treasurer, and County Superintendent of Public Instruction). The position of County-Manager is not an elective office; rather, the Board of Supervisors hires (appoints) a person residing within the limits of the County to carry on the executive Government of the County, subject to guidance, direction, and supervision by the Board of Supervisors; and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors for a nominal term of four years, and continues in office until his successor is chosen and qualified. However, the County Manager does not have any authority over the Sheriff, County-Attorney, Recorder, Assessor, Treasurer, County Superintendent of Public Instruction, or any other elected Officer of the County.

Sherrif
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County-Attorney
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County-Treasurer
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County-Assessor
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County-Recorder
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County Superintendent of Public Instruction
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Other institutions and officers
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Apache County
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Cochise County
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Coconino County
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Gila County
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Graham County
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Greenlee County
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La Paz County
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Maricopa County
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Mohave County
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Navajo County
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Pima County
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Pinal County
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Santa Cruz County
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Yavapai County
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Yuma County
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Defunct counties

 * Pah-Ute County (1565–1571), now part of Clark County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona