County food-access profile · Arizona
Navajo County, AZ
Navajo County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 44.5%
- low-access pop.
- 19
- food-desert tracts
- 22.2%
- on SNAP
- 108K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
44.5% of Navajo County residents live in a low-access area, and 19 of its 31 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 22
- low-access tracts
- 28K
- food-desert residents
- 8.5%
- households, no vehicle
- 24.7%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Navajo County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 44.5% is well above the national share. 22 of the county's 31 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 47,861 people. 19 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 27,938 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Navajo County compares nationally
Navajo County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 44.5% low-access share outpaces 91% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #294 most-affected nationwide.
Navajo County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 31 census tracts in Navajo County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Navajo County vs. other Arizona counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Arizona
- Navajo
Navajo County, AZ
44.5 % low-access
- Apache
Apache County, AZ
54.7 % low-access
- Cochise
Cochise County, AZ
43.9 % low-access
- Coconino
Coconino County, AZ
32.5 % low-access
- Gila
Gila County, AZ
28.2 % low-access
- Graham
Graham County, AZ
39.6 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 31 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 107,449 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 22 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 19 |
| Low-Access Population | 47,861 |
| Low-Access Share | 44.5%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 27,938 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 108,415 |
| Median Household Income | $54,606 |
| Poverty Rate | 24.7%well above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 8,879 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 22.2%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 8.5%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.5% |
About 22.2% of Navajo County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 44.5% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 22.2% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 8,879 households here.
- 8.5% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 19 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Navajo County
well above the national share
19 of Navajo County's 31 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 61.3% of all its tracts.
A further 3 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 22.
An estimated 47,861 residents, roughly 44.5% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 27,938 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 9 tracts (29.0%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Navajo County
Navajo County has 99 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 10 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 53 locations (54% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 53
- alvarez auto center, inc., snowflake
- apache mini mart, carrizo
- apache services, whiteriver
- circle k 2709526, show low
- canyon day mini mart, whiteriver
- circle k 2700226, winslow
- circle k 2700404, winslow
- circle k 2700415, snowflake
- circle k 2700424, pinetop
- circle k 2700428, heber
- circle k 2701116, holbrook
- circle k 2701213, lakeside
- circle k 2701217, show low
- circle k 2701846, show low
- circle k 2701856, pinetop
- circle k 2701997, heber
- circle k 2703498, taylor
- circle k 2706665, show low
- circle k 2709578, snowflake
- country store 1, snowflake
- good 2 go store 566, winslow
- h market, whiteriver
- hatch quick stop inc, holbrook
- holbrook petroleum inc., holbrook
- hondah mini mart, pinetop
- honani c store, second mesa
- indian wells trading post 504, indian wells
- kayenta chevron, kayenta
- keams canyon mustang, keams canyon
- kykotsmovi convenience store, kykotsmovi
- love's travel stop 971, winslow
- love's travel stops 278, joseph city
- maverik, inc 387, winslow
- maverik, inc 388, show low
- maverik, inc 445, lakeside
- maverik, inc 478, holbrook
- maverik, inc 499, snowflake
- pilot travel center 612, winslow
- pinon conoco, pinon
- polacca circle m, polacca
- red mesa express 532, dilkon
- silver creek general store, show low
- speedway 2889, show low
- speedway 2950, show low
- speedway 2999, holbrook
- speedway 3001, lakeside
- speedway 3002, show low
- speedway 3003, taylor
- speedway 3004, kayenta
- speedway 3004, kayenta
- speedway 3009, holbrook
- super fuels holbrook, holbrook
- thriftway #254, dilkon
Combination Grocery/Other · 20
- cvs pharmacy 2412, show low
- dollar general 10215, show low
- dollar general 10605, show low
- dollar general 23953, show low
- dollar general 25439, show low
- dollar general 25897, holbrook
- dollar general 6739, holbrook
- dollar general 6864, winslow
- dollar general 6987, pinetop
- dollar general 9853, overgaard
- dollar tree 3878, taylor
- dollar tree 3929, show low
- family dollar store 3748, winslow
- family dollar store 3880, lakeside
- family dollar store 3939, show low
- family dollar store 4436, holbrook
- family dollar store 4440, snowflake
- family dollar store 6721, overgaard
- family dollar store 6863, pinetop
- walgreens 05090, show low
Super Store · 9
- bashas' 53, taylor
- bashas' 78, whiteriver
- bashas' dine market 17, pinon
- bashas' dine market 42, kayenta
- bashas' dine market 98, dilkon
- eddie's country store 88, pinetop
- walmart 1230, show low
- walmart 1328, winslow
- walmart supercenter 4355, taylor
Supermarket · 6
- heber hometown iga, heber
- kykotsmovi village store, kykotsmovi village
- safeway 1733, show low
- safeway 2069, pinetop-lakeside
- safeway 239, winslow
- safeway 3189, holbrook
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 3
- badland cattle co., joseph city
- snowflake smokehouse butcher shop, snowflake
- wmmp llc, lakeside
Farmers' Market · 2
- mother road farmers market, winslow
- taylor az market llc, snowflake
Large Grocery Store · 2
- cibecue commercial center, cibecue
- overgaard food center 1, overgaard
Small Grocery Store · 2
- natures realm, show low
- shonto marketplace, shonto
Bakery Specialty · 1
- papa murphys az115, show low
Medium Grocery Store · 1
- keams canyon trading post, keams canyon
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Arizona
Compare Navajo County vs Apache County → · All Arizona counties →
Food access nationally, Arizona in context
Navajo County sits inside Arizona (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Navajo County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Navajo County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Navajo County? ▼
Is Navajo County a food desert? ▼
What share of Navajo County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.