54,073 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.3% since 2020)
4,758 square miles of land · 11 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
42 active community water systems list Gila County in the area they serve, reporting 53,615 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PAYSON TOWN OF surface water · local government · AZ0404032 | 17,682 served |
| ARIZONA WATER CO - MIAMI CLAYPOOL groundwater · private · AZ0404002 | 8,616 served |
| PINE STRAWBERRY WID groundwater · private · AZ0404034 | 8,013 served |
| GLOBE CITY OF groundwater · local government · AZ0404008 | 7,536 served |
| TONTO BASIN WATER - LR GARDENS WEST groundwater · private · AZ0404047 | 1,172 served |
| TOWN OF STAR VALLEY WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · private · AZ0404037 | 1,157 served |
| PAYSON WATER - MESA DE CABALLO groundwater · private · AZ0404030 | 976 served |
| HAYDEN TOWN OF buys groundwater · local government · AZ0404054 | 517 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 147 people were held in Gila County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 509 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 138.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
9 school districts have their office in Gila County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $29.8 million — $26 million to run schools, about $11,233 per student, plus $2.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $16.6 million local (mostly property tax), $12.4 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $17.9 million.
Spent $19.4 million — $17.3 million to run schools, about $10,144 per student, plus $2.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.8 million local (mostly property tax), $12.2 million state, $5.2 million federal.
Spent $28 million — $25.4 million to run schools, about $18,093 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $759,000 local (mostly property tax), $12.2 million state, $20 million federal.
Spent $13.1 million — $10.1 million to run schools, about $10,817 per student, plus $3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.3 million local (mostly property tax), $5.3 million state, $4.5 million federal.
Spent $5 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $14,532 per student, plus $418,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $829,000 local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $941,000 federal.
Spent $4.4 million — $3.9 million to run schools, about $40,125 per student, plus $144,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.2 million local (mostly property tax), $477,000 state, $146,000 federal.
Spent $2.5 million — $2.1 million to run schools, about $25,345 per student, plus $9,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1 million local (mostly property tax), $876,000 state, $592,000 federal.
Spent $1.7 million — $1.7 million to run schools, about $35,191 per student, plus $44,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $91,000 state, $150,000 federal.
And 1 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Gila County about $55.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
259 bridges in Gila County: 147 in good condition, 108 fair, and 4 poor (1.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| Jesse Hayes Rd over Pinal Creek · built 1920 | 5,162 vehicles a day |
| FSR 708 over FOSSIL CREEK · built 1933 | 220 vehicles a day |
| IRR BIA RTE 9 over BLACK RIVER · built 1930 | 5 vehicles a day |
| IRR BIA RTE 9 over WHITE RIVER · built 1934 | 5 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $89.8 million of work in Gila County in fiscal 2025, about $1,685 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-07 to 2026-10-30. Last day to request a ballot by mail: 2026-10-23. Last suggested day to mail your ballot back: 2026-10-27. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Arizona Secretary of State, Sept. 4, 2026 · Arizona Secretary of State — 2025–2026 master elections calendar (PDF) · Arizona Secretary of State — election calendar
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Gila County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Gila County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arizona: the state government and every county in Arizona.
Nearby counties: Pinal County (68 mi) · Graham County (80 mi) · Greenlee County (98 mi) · Maricopa County (101 mi) · Navajo County (114 mi) · Yavapai County (117 mi).