Where the Colorado River passes on its way toward Mexico, Yuma is a desert city of about 105,000 in the far southwest corner of Arizona. It holds the Guinness title of sunniest city on Earth, and it is a winter lettuce capital, so farm fields ring the town. Snowbirds and military families keep it busy, and housing is very affordable, well below the national average.
Downtown has a restored historic core, and Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park is the top sight, along with the Quartermaster Depot and the river wetlands. Kayaking on the Colorado is popular, the Imperial Sand Dunes are about 40 miles west, and date farms welcome visitors. Mexico is about 25 miles away at San Luis. Summer is the challenge. Highs routinely reach 105 to 118 degrees, so outdoor plans move to the mornings. Winters are mild. Property crime, mostly vehicle theft, runs near or slightly above average.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
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- Known as
- Sunniest City on Earth (Guinness); Lettuce Capital of the Winter; Gateway to Arizona from California; Territorial Prison City
- Founded
- 1854 townsite platted at the Colorado River crossing (Yuma Crossing, used since the 1849 Gold Rush); 1914 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish (majority Hispanic or Latino population, about 61%); Cocopah among small tribal community
- Airports
- Yuma International Airport (YUM), about 3 miles south of downtown, shared with Marine Corps Air Station Yuma; San Diego International (SAN), about 170 miles west; Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), about 185 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%; Mexican-border day-trip drivers 10-15%
About this data
Population 105,227 is Census Vintage 2025 via QuickFacts; land area 120.67 sq mi from Census; median value and rent from Census ACS 2020-2024. Metro figure 224,449 is Yuma County (Vintage 2025), which is the Yuma MSA (single county). visityuma.com is the official tourism site (Yuma Visitors Bureau); the city also has yumaaz.gov/visitors pages. 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.
