Kingman plays its part as a railroad and Route 66 town in the high desert of northwest Arizona, and it does it well. The downtown has the Route 66 museum, a diner, and neon, and the mountain park at Hualapai gives a cooler escape. Day trips include the ghost town of Oatman, where wild burros wander the street, Hoover Dam, and Grand Canyon West with its Skywalk, about two hours away. It is a Route 66 centennial year, so expect events.
The city has about 36,000 people and is the county seat, with a regional hospital. Living is cheaper than Prescott or Lake Havasu City, though prices are not rock bottom. Summers are hot, with monsoon floods, wind, and dust, and there is some winter snow at about 3,300 feet. Crime is a little above average, mostly property crime, and specialist care may mean a trip to Las Vegas or Phoenix.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Heart of Historic Route 66; Home of the Mohave County seat; Powerhouse Route 66 Museum and Electric Vehicle Museum city; Gateway to the Grand Canyon West
- Founded
- 1882 founded as a railroad stop on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (named for surveyor Lewis Kingman); 1952 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; small communities speaking Hualapai, German and Tagalog
- Airports
- Laughlin/Bullhead International (IFP), about 30 miles northwest, limited service; Kingman Airport (IGM), general aviation only; Harry Reid International (LAS), about 100 miles north; Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), about 190 miles south; Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG), about 150 miles east
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; tour guides 10-20%; counter service optional
About this data
Population 35,829 is Census Vintage 2025 via QuickFacts; land area 37.55 sq mi from Census; median value and rent from Census ACS 2020-2024. Metro figure 228,102 is Mohave County (Vintage 2025), used as the metro proxy because the Lake Havasu City-Kingman MSA is the same county and is shared with Lake Havasu City. explorekingman.com is the Kingman Office of Tourism. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event months, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, airport distances, crime figures and 1BR rent are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass. Official URLs found via search but not load-tested; confidence moderate.
