Santa Cruz County economic data, statistics & info

• According to the most recent population estimates for 2025, Santa Cruz County is home to 51,324 residents. The city of Nogales, which remains the county's largest municipality, is estimated to have 19,994 people, while the smaller town of Patagonia is estimated at 796 residents. The unincorporated areas of the county continue to see the most significant growth, reaching 30,534 people in 2025. 
• Over the past decade, from 2015 to 2025, the county's total population has grown by 8.6%, with nearly all of this increase occurring outside the incorporated towns. Nogales has experienced a slight decline of about 1.2% during this period, and Patagonia has seen a gradual decrease of nearly 7%. These trends highlight that while Santa Cruz County as a whole is growing, the growth is concentrated in the unincorporated regions—most notably in Rio Rico, which accounts for the majority of the unincorporated area's recent population increase.
• By 2030, projections indicate the county will grow to 50,794 residents, with Nogales declining slightly to 19,769 and Patagonia to 784, while the unincorporated areas increase to 30,241. Rio Rico is projected to reach 22,935, Sonoita 896, and Tubac 1,765 by 2030. This trend continues through 2060, with the county reaching 53,272, Nogales declining to 17,478, Patagonia to 641, and the unincorporated balance rising to 35,152. By 2060, Rio Rico is projected at 26,660, Sonoita at 1,042, and Tubac at 2,051. 
• Overall, these projections show modest countywide growth concentrated in unincorporated and CDP areas, while Nogales and Patagonia are expected to see steady population declines.

See spreadsheets below for current and historical county, city, town & place population data and projections.

TOURISM VISITOR COUNTS

• In 2024, visits to Patagonia Lake State Park in Santa Cruz County totaled 235,502, down 3.1% from the year prior, according to data from Arizona Office of Tourism. That followed annual increases of 14.1% in 2023 and 5.2% in 2022. In 2024, visits to Patagonia Lake were down 0.8% from 2019, the year prior to the COVID pandemic. 
• Visits to Tubac Presidio State Historic Park totaled 7,256 in 2024, up 15.9% from the year prior (after falling 5.4% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2022; that followed a 39.7% COVID-related decline in 2020 and a 40.2% rebound in 2021). Annual visits in 2024 were down 9.7% from 2019, the year prior to the pandemic. 
• Visits to Tumacacori National Historic Park totaled 35,256 in 2024, down 6.9% from the year prior, on the heels of a 2.4% decline in 2023 (that followed increases of 16.3% in 2022 and 40.6% in 2021, rebounding from a 40.2% drop in 2020, the first year of the pandemic). Annual visits in 2024 were down 11.2% from the pre-pandemic year 2019.

See downloadable spreadsheets, below, for annual Santa Cruz County national and state park visitor counts by attraction.

TRAVEL IMPACTS

• Santa Cruz County's travel industry (including business and leisure travel) generated $283.3 million in direct spending countywide in 2024, according to research by Dean Runyan Associates for Arizona Office of Tourism. That was down 1.6% from 2023 (following annual increases of 61.2% in 2021, 36.4% in 2022, and 10.4% in 2023, rebounding from a 49.5% COVID-related drop in 2020, the first year of the pandemic). Travel-related direct spending in 2023 was at its highest level since 2014, and remained second highest since that year after the 2024 decline. Santa Cruz County's travel industry supported 1,900 jobs countywide in 2024 (down 0.5% from the year prior) with household earnings of $59.6 million (up 2.6% from 2023), according to the study.

BORDER CROSSINGS

• Recent trends show that more people are crossing the border on foot at Nogales Port of Entry than in recent years, and travel by car remains popular and well above pandemic levels.
• In 2025, over 3.4 million people crossed the border on foot at the Nogales Port of Entry. This is up from about 3.26 million in 2024, continuing a steady recovery since the pandemic low of 1.42 million in 2020. Each year since 2020, more people have been crossing on foot, showing that travel is returning to normal. 
• In 2025, about 7.08 million people entered the U.S. as passengers in personal vehicles at the Nogales Port. This is slightly fewer than the 7.36 million in 2024, but still much higher than the 3.56 million seen in 2020. After a big rebound in 2021 and 2022, the numbers have stayed strong, even with a small dip in 2025.
• These trends show that border crossings at Nogales are getting back to normal, with millions of people moving between the two countries each year.

See downloadable spreadsheets below for current and historical border crossing data for bus passengers, buses, pedestrians, personal vehicle passengers, personal vehicles, truck containers [empty and loaded], and trucks at the Nogales Port of Entry.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

•  In 2024, the value of international trade (imports and exports) passing through Santa Cruz County's Nogales port of entry totaled $34.5 billion, up 8.2% from the year prior. That followed growth of 10.6% in 2021, 16.4% in 2022, and 9.7% in 2023 (after a COVID-related decline of 15.8% in 2020, the first year of the pandemic). The total value of trade through the Nogales port in 2024 was up 28.7% from 2019, the year prior to the pandemic. 
• In 2024, exports totaled $10.9 billion, up 5.0% from 2023, while imports came in at $23.6 billion, up 9.8%. 

See downloadable spreadsheets below for current and historical international trade data (imports, exports, and total trade) for the Nogales port of entry.