Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located 105 miles (169 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Arizona's state capital, Phoenix.[4]
![]() | Parts of this article (those related to demographics) need to be updated. (June 2022) |
Kingman, Arizona | |
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City | |
![]() Mohave County Courthouse in Kingman | |
![]() Seal | |
Motto: "The Heart of Historic Route 66" | |
![]() Location in Mohave County, Arizona | |
![]() U.S. Census map | |
Coordinates: 35°12′30″N 114°1′33″W | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
County | Mohave |
Incorporated | 1952 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Ken Watkins[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 37.55 sq mi (97.25 km2) |
• Land | 37.55 sq mi (97.25 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 3,333 ft (1,016 m) |
Population (2020)[3] | |
• Total | 32,689 |
• Density | 870.62/sq mi (336.14/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−7 (MSTArizona Time (no DST) |
ZIP codes | 86401, 86402, 86409 |
Area code | 928 |
FIPS code | 04-37620 |
Website | www |
Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a U.S. Navy officer in the service of the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, was ordered by the U.S. War Department to build a federal wagon road across the 35th parallel. His secondary orders were to test the feasibility of the use of camels as pack animals in the Southwestern desert. Beale traveled through the present-day Kingman in 1857 surveying the road and in 1859 to build the road. Beale's Wagon Road became part of U.S. Route 66 and later Interstate 40. Remnants of the wagon road can still be seen in White Cliffs Canyon in Kingman.
Kingman was founded in 1882 before statehood, in Arizona Territory. Situated in the Hualapai Valley between the Cerbat and Hualapai mountain ranges, Kingman had its modest beginnings as a simple railroad siding near Beale Springs. Civil engineer Lewis Kingman supervised the building of the railroad from Winslow to Beale Springs. This spring had been used by Native Americans living in the area for centuries.
The Mohave County seat was originally located in Mohave City from 1864 to 1867. In 1865, the portion of Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River was transferred to Nevada after Nevada's statehood, and became part of Lincoln County, now Clark County, Nevada. The remaining territory of Pah-Ute County became part of Mohave County. Its seat was moved to Hardyville (now within Bullhead City) in 1867. The county seat transferred to the mining town of Cerbat in 1873, then to Mineral Park near Chloride. After some time, the county seat and all instruments were permanently moved to Kingman in 1887.
During World War II, Kingman was the site of a U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield. The Kingman Army Airfield was founded at the beginning of the war as an aerial gunnery training base. It became one of the USAAF's largest, training some 35,000 soldiers and airmen. The airfield and Kingman played a significant role in this important era of America's history.[citation needed] Following the war, the Kingman Airfield was one of the largest reclamation sites for obsolete military aircraft.
Postwar, Kingman experienced growth as several major employers moved into the vicinity. In 1953, Kingman was used to detain those men accused of practicing polygamy in the Short Creek raid,[5] which was at the time one of the largest arrests in American history.[6] In 1955, Ford Motor Company established a proving ground (now one of the Chrysler Proving Grounds) in nearby Yucca at the former Yucca Army Airfield. Several major new neighborhoods in Kingman were developed to house the skilled workers and professionals employed at the proving ground. Likewise, the development of the Mineral Park mine near adjacent Chloride, and construction of the Mohave Generating Station in nearby Laughlin, Nevada, in 1971 contributed to Kingman's population growth. Also, the location of a General Cable plant at the Kingman Airport Industrial Park provided steady employment.
The Kingman Explosion, also known as the Doxol Disaster or Kingman BLEVE, was a catastrophic boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) that occurred on July 5, 1973, during a propane transfer from a Doxol railroad car to a storage tank on the Getz rail siding near Andy Devine Avenue/Route 66.
Firefighters Memorial Park in Kingman is dedicated to the 11 firefighters who died in the blaze.
Kingman is in central Mohave County, along Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 93. The city is served by three exits on I-40, which leads east 147 miles (237 km) to Flagstaff and southwest 62 miles (100 km) to Needles, California. US-93 leads northwest 107 miles (172 km) to Las Vegas and southeast 130 miles (210 km) to Wickenburg, 54 miles (87 km) from Phoenix. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Kingman has a total area of 37.5 square miles (97 km2), all land.[2]
Kingman sits on the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert, but it is located in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) due to its plateau location. Kingman's higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley keeps summer high temperatures away from the extremes (115 °F (46 °C) or more) experienced by Phoenix and the Colorado River Valley. The higher elevation also contributes to winter cold and occasional snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F (32 °C) frequently, but rarely exceed 107 °F (42 °C). Summertime lows usually remain between 60 to 70 °F (16 to 21 °C). Winter highs are generally mild, ranging from around 50 to 60 °F (10 to 16 °C), but winter nighttime lows often fall to freezing, with significantly lower temperatures possible, and occasional snow.
The record low temperature in Kingman was set on January 9, 1937, at 6 °F (−14 °C), and the record high temperature occurred on June 20, 2017, at 113 °F (45 °C). The wettest year was 1919 with 21.22 inches (539 mm) and the driest year was 1947 with 3.58 inches (91 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 9.85 inches (250 mm) in September 1939. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 6.03 inches (153 mm) on November 28, 1919. The snowiest year was 1949 with 18.2 inches (0.46 m). The most snowfall in one month was 14.0 inches (0.36 m) in December 1932.[7][8] On December 31, 2014 and January 1, 2015, Kingman received 6.5 inches of snow. The storm was so significant that it was a contributing factor for closing Interstate 40 at the US 93 Junction for 24 hours.
Climate data for Kingman, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 78 (26) |
82 (28) |
90 (32) |
97 (36) |
106 (41) |
113 (45) |
113 (45) |
111 (44) |
110 (43) |
100 (38) |
90 (32) |
77 (25) |
113 (45) |
Average high °F (°C) | 57.4 (14.1) |
60.6 (15.9) |
67.4 (19.7) |
74.8 (23.8) |
84.9 (29.4) |
95.1 (35.1) |
98.7 (37.1) |
97.2 (36.2) |
90.9 (32.7) |
78.9 (26.1) |
66.1 (18.9) |
55.7 (13.2) |
77.3 (25.2) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.2 (6.8) |
47.0 (8.3) |
52.7 (11.5) |
59.1 (15.1) |
68.8 (20.4) |
78.7 (25.9) |
84.3 (29.1) |
83.1 (28.4) |
75.6 (24.2) |
63.6 (17.6) |
51.3 (10.7) |
42.9 (6.1) |
62.6 (17.0) |
Average low °F (°C) | 30.9 (−0.6) |
33.3 (0.7) |
38.1 (3.4) |
43.4 (6.3) |
52.7 (11.5) |
62.3 (16.8) |
70.0 (21.1) |
68.9 (20.5) |
60.4 (15.8) |
48.3 (9.1) |
36.5 (2.5) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
47.9 (8.8) |
Record low °F (°C) | 4 (−16) |
9 (−13) |
11 (−12) |
20 (−7) |
29 (−2) |
34 (1) |
45 (7) |
43 (6) |
31 (−1) |
23 (−5) |
13 (−11) |
6 (−14) |
4 (−16) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.98 (25) |
1.04 (26) |
0.59 (15) |
0.46 (12) |
0.08 (2.0) |
0.11 (2.8) |
0.86 (22) |
0.88 (22) |
0.96 (24) |
0.74 (19) |
0.62 (16) |
0.68 (17) |
8.00 (203) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 40.1 |
Source: NOAA[9][10] |
Historical population | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1890 | 322 | — | |
1910 | 900 | — | |
1920 | 1,276 | 41.8% | |
1930 | 2,275 | 78.3% | |
1950 | 3,342 | — | |
1960 | 4,525 | 35.4% | |
1970 | 7,312 | 61.6% | |
1980 | 9,257 | 26.6% | |
1990 | 12,722 | 37.4% | |
2000 | 20,069 | 57.8% | |
2010 | 28,068 | 39.9% | |
2020 | 32,689 | 16.5% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[11] |
At the 2000 census, there were 20,069 people, 7,854 households and 5,427 families residing in the city. The population density was 669.7 per square mile (258.6/km2). There were 8,604 housing units at an average density of 287.1 per square mile (110.8/km2). The racial make-up of the city was 88.0% White, <0.1% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race comprised 12.2% of the population.
There were 7,854 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94.
25.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64 and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median household income was $34,086 and the median family income was $41,327. Males had a median income of $32,036 and females $21,134. The per capita income was $17,181. About 8.2% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
The city operates under the council-manager form of government. The city council, which is the policymaking and legitimate authority, consists of a mayor, vice-mayor, a five member council and the city manager. The current mayor is Ken Watkins and the vice-mayor seat is currently vacant. The city council consists of five elected officials – councilmembers SueAnn Mello, Jamie Scott Stehly, Deana Nelson, Cherish Sammeli and Keith Walker. The city manager is Ron Foggin. The city attorney is Carl Cooper.
The city government also includes boards and commissions that assist the council in decision making. They are the:
Arizona State Prison – Kingman, a privately run prison of the Arizona Department of Corrections, is located in unincorporated Mohave County near Kingman.[12]
The United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management has a field office located in Kingman.
Mohave County Superior Court is located in Kingman.
Mohave County Administration offices are located in Kingman.
The Mohave County Fairgrounds are located in Kingman.
According to Kingman's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[13] the top employers in the city are:
# | Employer | # of employees |
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1 | Kingman Regional Medical Center | 1,800 |
2 | Mohave County | 1,271 |
3 | Kingman Unified School District | 740 |
4 | Mohave Community College | 700 |
5 | American Woodmark | 689 |
6 | Walmart | 440 |
7 | City of Kingman | 374 |
8 | Laron Inc | 187 |
9 | The Home Depot | 135 |
10 | Indiana Western Express, Inc. | 119 |
The Kingman Airport is located 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Kingman on Arizona State Route 66. The airport was originally built as Kingman Army Air Field during World War II and was the location of the Kingman Aerial Gunnery School. The airport was turned over to Mohave County for civilian use in 1949. There are air ambulance and air charter services, but no commercial flights. The closest commercial airport is Harry Reid International Airport in Paradise, Nevada, approximately 104 miles (167 km) northwest of Kingman. The Kingman airport now primarily exists as a location for long-term aircraft storage due to its suitable large ramp space and a long, decommissioned runway. Kingman is a non-towered airport.
Located downtown, the Kingman station station has daily services on Amtrak's Amtrak Southwest Chief between Los Angeles and Chicago. The historically significant station is constructed in Mission Revival style. Prior to the establishment of Amtrak in 1971, the building had fallen into disrepair. A total renovation was completed in 2010. The station houses a model railroad museum. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach offers connecting service to Las Vegas.
Kingman is located on the Southern Transcon route of the BNSF Railway which is the main transcontinental route between Los Angeles and Chicago, which carries approximately 100 to 150 freight trains per day.
In August 2012, the Kingman Terminal Railroad (KGTR) opened at the Kingman Airport Authority and Industrial Park. The KGTR is a short line railroad owned by Patriot Rail. Patriot Rail owns and operates 13 railroads in 13 states across the U.S. The KGTR interchanges with BNSF and delivers to businesses at the industrial park.
The City of Kingman operates Kingman Area Regional Transit.[14] Kingman is served by the intercity bus companies Greyhound and TUFESA. FlixBus boards from a stop at 915 W Beale St. Tri-State Shuttle connects Kingman with Harry Reid International Airport in Paradise.[15]
Kingman has one public school district, one charter school district and one Christian school.
Kingman Unified School District (KUSD) consists of 12 schools, ranging from Kindergarten to high school.[16]
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
K–12
Kingman has been used as a filming location for several movies and television shows.
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