Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 519.
Nelson’s July high is 104°F, above both the Arizona town median (100°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Of the 141 Arizona towns we compare, none has a higher share of households owning their home than Nelson. Nelson has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1943 and 3 maps from 1959 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Nelson. Close and well known come first.
7 mi National ParkSaguaro National Park848K visitors a year
23 mi Stadium & arenaArizona Stadium
28 mi MountainMount Lemmon
31 mi MuseumPima Air & Space Museum
14 mi Zoo & aquariumArizona-Sonora Desert Museum
16 mi State parkPicacho Peak State ParkSaguaro National Park: Luke Jones from Yucca Valley, CC BY 2.0 · Arizona Stadium: Wcarlisle4, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Lemmon: Debby Kriegel, Public domain · Pima Air & Space Museum: The original uploader was MCB at English Wikipedia. Later versions were uploade, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Picacho Peak State Park: Tony the Marine (talk), Public domain
Nelson is unincorporated, so Pima County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Nelson.
Most working residents leave Nelson for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Tucson (32%), Marana (12%) and Phoenix (10%). Half commute less than 25 miles.
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Nelson has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. At 39°F, Nelson’s January low is close to Arizona’s towns (37°F) and above U.S. towns (22°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nelson beats the Arizona average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 24% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Nelson.
| Nelson | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 20% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 75% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Nelson | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with depression | 24.1% | 19.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Nelson; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Nelson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Where Nelson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
CDP in Pima County, Arizona
Nelson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 259 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Nelson has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
