Why, Arizona

Why^[a] is an unincorporated rural community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It lies near the western border of the Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation and due north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona. It is approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of the Mexican border where Lukeville, Arizona, and Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico, border each other, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Ajo, Arizona.

Why, Arizona
Unincorporated town
Why road sign
Why Location within the state of Arizona Show map of Arizona Why Why (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 32°16′4.20″N 112°44′11.99″W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Pima
Population  (2020)
• Total	122
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (MST)
ZIP code	85321[citation needed]
Area code	520

The population in Why at the 2020 census was about 122 people.^[1]

History

The town derives its name from the fact that two major highways, State Routes 85 and 86, originally intersected in a Y-intersection.^[2] At the time of its naming, state law required all city names to have at least three letters, so the town's founders named the town "Why" as opposed to simply calling it "Y." The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) later removed the old Y-intersection for traffic safety reasons and built the two highways in a conventional intersection south of the original intersection.^[3]

It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.^[4][5]

Services

Why is not in a school district. The closest district is the Ajo Unified School District.^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	116		—
2010	167		44.0%
2020	122		−26.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[1]

Education

A portion of Why is in the Indian Oasis-Baboquivari Unified School District,^[7] while another is not in any school district.^[8] The Pima County School Superintendent arranges for education of K-12 students living in areas without school districts, and that office arranges for transportation to the Ajo Unified School District to the Why areas not in any school district.^[9]

See also

• Arizona portal

Notes

1. O'odham: Ban Hi:nk^{[citation needed]}