Carefree, Arizona

Carefree, Arizona
Town
Welcome marker
FIPS code		04-10180
GNIS feature ID	2413168[2]
Website	www.carefree.org

Carefree is a town in

History

Characterized as an upscale

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1980	964		—
1990	1,657		71.9%
2000	2,927		76.6%
2010	3,363		14.9%
2020	3,690		9.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the

of any race were 3% of the population.

There were 1,389 households, out of which 14.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples, 3.2% had a single owner, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.44.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 12.7% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 15.4% from 25 to 44, 40.5% from 45 to 64, and 29.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $88,702, and the median income for a family was $105,699. Males had a median income of $61,050 versus $38,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $62,433. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under the age of 18 and 3.2% of those 65 and older.

Geography and climate

Carefree is in northeastern Maricopa County, bordered by the city of Scottsdale to the south and east and by the town of Cave Creek to the west. Carefree and Cave Creek are sometimes thought of as a single community.^[8] The two towns share the local landmark Black Mountain, which rises more than 1,000 feet (300 m) above them, to an elevation of 3,398 feet (1,036 m).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.8 square miles (23 km²), of which 0.004 square miles (0.010 km²), or 0.05%, are listed as water.^[1]

Carefree has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with hot summers and mild winters, avoiding a designation of arid by being located closer to the rain-catching central mountains of Arizona, so that it receives about 70 percent (around 5.3 inches or 135 millimetres) more rainfall annually than does Phoenix. There are 141 afternoons annually with highs of at least 90 °F or 32.2 °C, 63.4 afternoons of at least 100 °F or 37.8 °C, and three afternoons that exceed 110 °F or 43.3 °C. During the winter, 8.3 mornings will fall below freezing; the coldest temperature reported in Carefree is 15 °F or −9.4 °C, which occurred on January 13, 1963, and January 7, 1971. Snowfall, although infrequent, can occur. The last measurable snow was February 22, 2019, accumulating 3–6" depending upon the elevation. Rainfall is sometimes heavy during winter fronts or monsoonal storms; the wettest month on record is January 1993 with 9.37 inches (238.0 mm), which helped produce a record “rain year” total of 26.20 inches (665.5 mm) between July 1992 and June 1993; in contrast between July 1962 and June 1963, only 6.98 inches (177.3 mm) was recorded.

Sites of interest

The

Carefree was the long-time home of Southwestern Studios, originally built in 1968 as Fred Graham Studios by actor, stunt man, and Arizona Film Commissioner

The studio was used for the filming of

was shot on Stages 2 and 3 and extensively on the back lot and western street sets.

Southwestern Studios was also used in television productions. In 1973–74, local resident Hugh Downs produced and hosted two pilot episodes for a unique show, Foursome, that was both a game show and talk show, where four celebrities came together to play various games and interact with each other. In one episode, actors Janet Leigh and Robert Culp and comedians Jo Anne Worley and Alan Sues played a game of tennis. In the other episode, shot on Stage 3, dancer-singer-actor Ann Miller, Robert Culp, Jo Anne Worley, and Alan Sues played a popular board game. In 1974, Southwestern Studios was the location on Stage 2 and the back lot for the filming of the TV movie, McMasters of Sweetwater,^[16] starring Jack Cassidy and Loretta Ball and directed by Robert Butler.

Later renamed Carefree Studios, the studio was razed in 1999. The studio, western street, and pristine desert back lot property was developed into retail space and

.

in north Phoenix, to explain his mood at that time. The highway runs from the foot of (North) Tom Darlington Drive at the South-West corner of Carefree about 30 miles westward to Lake Pleasant Parkway in Peoria, AZ.

Education

The town is served by Cave Creek Unified School District.

Transportation

runs along the east edge of Carefree, then curves and becomes an east-west road through Carefree.

Cave Creek is not a member of Valley Metro and does not have local bus service.

Notable residents

• Eric Bischoff, entrepreneur and professional wrestling producer
• Frederick J. Brown, visual artist
• Howell Conant, fashion photographer, associated with Grace Kelly
• Hugh Downs, broadcaster, television host, news anchor^[17]
• Michael Haugen Jr., professional ten-pin bowler and winner of five PBA Tour titles
• Kathleen Hite, scriptwriter for television and radio
• Wilhelm Kuhweide, German Olympic gold medalist, 1964; four-time world sailing champion
• David Lapham, comic book artist^[18]
• Dick Stockton, sportscaster
• Dick Van Dyke, actor

References

External links

• Official website