Arizona - Rowood through Shipolovi, 1942
Sells’s story
107 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1942.
- 1919Sells is settled
SellsAZ
A town of 1,935, settled in 1919.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domain
Is Sells a good place to live?
The best of Sells’ subject grades is an A+ for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for health. 50% of residents live below the poverty line in Sells, against 12% in Arizona’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 1 of Arizona’s 203 towns do better. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Only 13 of Arizona’s 207 towns score lower on the outdoors. Sells has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Sells stand out
Where Sells beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
Jobs here676
Residents who work360
Work
A regional job hub: more jobs per worker than 92% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023.
32 measures vs. Arizona
2 better3 too close to call27 worse
| Widest gap | Sells | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 28.8% | 7.2% |
Worth knowing · HealthD−
Less healthy than 99% of U.S. towns
Trails AZ on 27 of 32 CDC measures, beats it on 2
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
A shrinking town
Sells has shrunk 15% from 2010 to 2020
2,495 counted in 2010 and 2,121 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Sells grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Sells is from typical.
Cost of livingHome prices against what area households earnA+Open →HealthNear the bottom of U.S. towns on CDC estimates; Sells Hospital 10.7 miles awayD−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →SchoolsDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.8 of 20; 45.3% of households have no car; 10.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Sells: who provides what
Sells is unincorporated, so Pima County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerTrico Electric Cooperative14.3¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSells Intertie water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet1 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesPima CountyPima County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Arizona you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections herePima County RecorderPima County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code8563485634 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sells.
HealthD−
More of Sells’ adults say their health is fair or poor than in the typical Arizona or U.S. town
43% of Sells adults say their health is fair or poor, where Arizona’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 19%. 29% of adults report frequent mental distress in Sells. No town among the 141 in Arizona we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Sells.
1%healthier than U.S. townsD−Health Grade
| Sells | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 21% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Arizona
2 better3 too close to call27 worse
| What stands out | Sells | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 8.8% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13% | 15.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 28.8% | 7.2% |
Sells Hospital
10.7 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
SchoolsD
Sells’ schools rank behind 89% of Arizona districts
Its public schools are run by the Baboquivari Unified School District #40. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
11%of AZ districts it outscoresDSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Oasis Primary Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 336 | – |
| Alternative High School (Indian Oasis High School)Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 69 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AZ on state tests and graduation
Work & commute
With 1.9 jobs for every working resident, Sells draws in 617 commuters
Most working residents leave Sells for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Sells grew to 676 in 2023, 199 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Sells is 21 minutes.
16%work in town
| Sells | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 10% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Sells16%
Phoenix12%
Tucson11%
Tempe3%
Glendale2%
55 mi
median commute distance
676
jobs based in Sells
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Sells faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
91risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHeat wavesWildfire
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Sells has four seasons and hot summers
Sells has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. Sells’ July high is 101°F.
101°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter37–68°
Spring49–83°
Summer69–100°
Fall54–86°
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
101°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsD
Sells has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
11 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 5,892 acres
11 mi
of trails · 1.2 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Sells
15pages on Sells
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sells
About 5 of every 100 Sells residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arizona.
A job hub
Every workday, about 617 people come to Sells for work
Where Sells’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
676jobs based in Sells
16%of working residents work in town
55 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Sells
CDP in Pima County, Arizona
Sells (O'odham: Komkcʼeḍ ʼe-Wa:ʼosidk) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,799 at the 2000 census. It is the capital of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the home of several tribal businesses, such as Tohono O'Odham Ki:Ki Association. It was originally named Indian Oasis by cattle-ranchers/businessmen brothers Joseph and Louis Ménager in 1912. The Ménager brothers also built and ran the Indian Oasis Mercantile Store. The settlement took its present English name in 1918 to honor Indian Commissioner Cato Sells. The O'odham name means "tortoise got wedged". Sells is near the Kitt Peak National Observatory.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 9.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,392 ft
- ZIP code
- 85634
- Area code
- 520