Young, Arizona

Young, Arizona
Census-designated place
Location in Gila County and the state of Arizona
Young, Arizona Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°6′5″N 110°57′49″W / 34.10139°N 110.96361°WCoordinates: 34°6′5″N 110°57′49″W / 34.10139°N 110.96361°W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Gila
Area
• Total	47.8 sq mi (123.9 km^2)
• Land	47.8 sq mi (123.8 km^2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.1 km^2)
Elevation	5,184 ft (1,580 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	666
• Density	14/sq mi (5.4/km^2)
Time zone	MST (no DST) (UTC-7)
ZIP code	85554
Area code(s)	928
FIPS code	04-85330
GNIS feature ID	0036483

Young is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Gila County, Arizona, United States. The population was 666 as of the 2010 census,^[1] up from 561 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Young is located in northeastern Gila County at 34°6′42″N 110°55′45″W / 34.11167°N 110.92917°W (34.111688, -110.929208),^[2] along Arizona State Route 288 (which becomes Gila County 512 to the north). SR 288 is paved within and north of the town, totaling about 10 miles (16 km) of pavement, but there is no fully paved road connecting Young with other highways. Young is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest.

There are two main roads in and out of Young, one north (from SR 260) and one south (from SR 188). From Arizona State Route 260 between mile markers 284 and 285 (east of Christopher Creek and west of Heber/Overgaard), go south along FR512 for about 26 miles (42 km). SR 288's northernmost 3 miles (5 km) have been paved (as of October 2010), leaving about 13 miles (21 km) of this road unpaved. The southern route starts at the intersection of SR 188 and SR 288 (near Roosevelt Lake) and continues north along SR 288 for 47 miles (76 km). About 15–16 miles (24–26 km) is unpaved. Four-wheel drive is recommended during inclement weather.

The nearest cities to Young are Payson, 60 miles (97 km) by road to the northwest, and Globe/Miami, 65 miles (105 km) to the south. From the Phoenix area, Young is about 150 miles (240 km) away and typically takes 2.5 to 3 hours by vehicle.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 47.8 square miles (123.9 km²), of which 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.07%, is water.^[1] The community is set in the Pleasant Valley, drained to the southeast by Cherry Creek, a tributary of the Salt River.

History

Young played a central part in the Pleasant Valley War between 1887 and 1897. In September 1887, Sheriff Mulvernon of Prescott led a posse that pursued and killed John Graham and Charles Blevins during a shootout at "Perkins Store".

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 561 people, 250 households, and 171 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 13.4 people per square mile (5.2/km²). There were 446 housing units at an average density of 10.6 per square mile (4.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.08% White, 0.53% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 2.14% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 3.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 250 households out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 115.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $22,578, and the median income for a family was $26,438. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $25,313 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $12,177. About 16.8% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.4% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Technology and communications

Young first received outside electric power in 1965. Today Young has telephone service both wired and wireless. In October 2008, a cellular communications tower was erected on Turner Hill (located in north Young). No cable television provider exists in Young, so satellite TV is typically used for television. For Internet access, dial-up or satellite Internet is typically used. In 2008, a major fiber optics installation was performed throughout the town, potentially providing high speed internet (DSL).

Services

Several small businesses exist in Young. There is one restaurant, the Antlers, which burned to the ground in 2009 but was rebuilt/reopened in 2011. There is one gas station, one convenience store, an auto parts store, a motel, a small medical center, a thrift shop, a public library, a refuse service, Valley Bar, and Braswell's Chuckwagon, a gift/fabric shop. Young also has a resident deputy and a volunteer fire department, and community center.

Education

Only one school exists in Young: Young Public School, serving grades K-12. Because of the downsizing of the local U.S. Forest Service, Tonto National Forest District Office and hard economic times, the school may sometimes have empty classes. The school has recently (2013) been upgraded from a C to an A rating, the only A rating given to any school in Gila County.

References

1. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Young CDP, Arizona". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
2. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
3. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

• Pleasant Valley Community Center — Young community website