The residential city of Cottonwood rests centrally located in Arizona's wine country. The city developed similarly to most in the Verde Valley, expanding in size and population during the mining boom of the 1900s. Today, the city has a population of about 13,000 and continues growing, adding planned communities and nature trails to the landscape. “The city has been revived in the Old Town section to have great wineries and great restaurants that are individually crafted and owned,” says Realtor Jacque Weems with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, serving Verde Valley since 1996.
In addition to wine, the healthcare industry, city government and school districts fuel the local economy.
Get a taste of Americana in Cottonwood.
Many wine tasting rooms are located within walking distance of each other in Cottonwood.
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Old Town, wine tasting and national retailers
Streetlamps and sidewalks line Old Town Cottonwood, guiding the way to locally owned storefronts. Bars, cafes and restaurants, ranging from coffeehouses to surf and turf eateries, help shape the downtown district. Big box stores, major retailers and national chain grocery stores are located in various shopping centers via local highways. Old Town is part of the Verde Valley wine trail, which is dotted with wine-centric establishments and tasting rooms.
Old Town Cottonwood is a great place to spend the evening shopping, dining, and wine tasting.
Vino Zona is one of many stops on the Verde Valley Wine Trail, showcasing a variety of Arizona wines.
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Western-themed shows, Verde Valley Fairgrounds and museums
For over 30 years, Blazin’ M Ranch has served Western-themed dinners to go along with a music-packed show in northern Cottonwood. The Old Town Center for the Arts is a 130-seat theater with adjoining Studio B, for instructor-led classes, and hosts the Monday Movies on Main series. The Verde Valley Fairgrounds hosts camps for agricultural organizations, a fall festival in October, and the Verde Valley Fair during the first week in May. Nearby attractions include the Clemenceau Heritage Museum, focused on Verde Valley History, and The Science Vortex, a STEAM-centered children’s museum.
Catch a western themed dinner show at Blazin’ M Ranch in Cottonwood.
Cottonwood’s Old Town Center for the Arts is host to many artistic businesses, including a tattoo shop.
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Communities of ranch-style houses and Spanish Revivals
Cottonwood neighborhoods include Verde Village , which has ranch-style homes, adobe new traditionals and manufactured home communities. The Verde Santa Fe community is home to the Agave Highlands Golf Course. Single-story Spanish Revival houses are found in cul-de-sacs and along fairways. The median single-family home price is $435,000, while Yavapai County has a median value of $470,000. There are also adobe townhouses with an average price of $251,000.
Mid-century ranch homes can be found throughout Cottonwood.
Many newer homes in Cottonwood are built in a Spanish style with stucco finishes and tile roofs.
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School districts and trade classes through VACTE
The city is zoned across two districts, the Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary School District, which earns a C grade from Niche, and Mingus Union High School District, which receives a B. The latter offers various Advanced Placement (AP) programs, dual enrollment courses and trade classes through its partnership with the Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education (VACTE). The VACTE’s programs include agriculture, graphic design and culinary arts.
Football is popular at Cottonwood’s Mingus Union High School.
Valley Academy for Career & Technology Education serves high school students of Cottonwood and beyond.
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Nature trails and neighborhood parks
Neighborhood parks include natural open space, ramadas and playgrounds. Trails are laced through Dead Horse Ranch State Park, the Cottonwood Ranch Community and the Tuzigoot National Monument. In September, Riverfront Park hosts the Thunder Valley Rally, which includes live music, food vendors, a bike show and a poker run. The Cottonwood Aquatics Center sits adjacent to the Cottonwood Recreation Center, which has indoor fitness facilities and exercise classes. Weems says the area has four seasons with a long fall, so opportunities to access nature are abundant. Regional concerns include wildfires and heat offset by monsoons from mid-June to September. One of Arizona’s two wild rivers, the Verde River, runs through Cottonwood, so riverside communities are susceptible to flooding.
Enjoy the incredible views from Clarkdale’s Tuzigoot National Monument, near Cottonwood.
Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood is a close drive to get away from it all.
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Highway connections and medical center care
The Verde Valley Medical Center is centrally located and has emergency and general care facilities. State Highway 89A connects Cottonwood to Prescott, about 45 miles southwest, and Flagstaff, around 65 miles northeast. Camp Verde-Bridgeport Highway branches south of AZ-89A and intersects Interstate 17, a highway tying the city to Phoenix and its regional airport for select domestic flights, about 100 miles south.
Cottonwood crime trends and climate
According to the Cottonwood Police Department, violent and property crime figures have both trended downward. Violent crime counts decreased by 40% from 2021 to 2023; property crime counts decreased by about 37%. Countywide, violent crime counts decreased by about 9% during the same period, and property crime counts decreased by about 18%, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Weems, residents experience all four seasons with a long fall. Regional concerns include occasional heatwaves and potential wildfires, though with the possibility of being offset by monsoons from mid-June to September. One of Arizona’s two wild rivers, the Verde River, runs through Cottonwood, so riverside homes could be susceptible to flooding during monsoon season.
As the co-lead agent for Team Three 23 Real Estate Group with Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert, I’m dedicated to leading with integrity and honesty above all things, with a dedication to staying on top of the Arizona real estate market, industry and trends. On Team Three 23, we lead by serving, believe in balance, and adhere to business principles as laid out in Proverbs.
If you’re here, welcome! You must be looking into who I am, where I come from, what I stand for, and how I do business. So here’s my story: I’ve been in the real estate industry since 2002. I decided to get my real estate license so I could represent myself in building my real estate investment portfolio. But the strangest thing happened. I fell in love with the ins and outs of real estate. I say it’s strange because I’m a Creative with a professional background in Sales and Marketing/Advertising and a major in Dance with a concentration in Choreography. For the legalities and intricacies of real estate to grab me the way it did? Hey, who knew?
So I began working with clients as a full time Realtor. I put my marketing background to use on my clients’ behalf. What I found was that real estate was rewarding, challenging and fun all at the same time. There’s nothing like walking my clients through the process and seeing them happy at the close of escrow. Through my years in the real estate industry, I took my experience as a successful real estate agent and my marketing background and became a Special Operations Manager at a title company owned by Fortune 150 Company Lennar. I’ve worked with several real estate brokerages on their branding, mortgage banker AmeriFirst Financial as a Marketing Strategist, and have coached hundreds of real estate agents to success in their career as a Real Estate Success Coach.
I specialize in working with vacation home owners, especially those who want to rent out their vacation home when they’re not using it themselves. It’s a joy for me to help my clients attain vacation homes, and helping them offset the costs by using it as an investment at the same time. But that doesn’t mean those are the ONLY clients I work with! From first time homebuyers to seasoned investors, I’m passionate about putting my expertise to work to help make my clients’ dreams come true!
I'm married to Mark Tait, also a Realtor on Team Three 23. We have 2 adult daughters who we are VERY proud of. We have our Portuguese Water Dog, Zoe, at home with us. We love to travel, hike, play pickleball, and explore new
Together, my husband and I are also real estate investors and second home owners. Over the years we have enjoyed helping clients with their own personal residences, their second homes, and building up their real estate investment portfolio in Arizona. I also hold the CLHMS designation (Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist) through the Luxury Home Marketing Institute.
As a multi-market real estate agent with Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert, I work with buyers and sellers in Northern Arizona - from the greater Flagstaff, AZ area to the Verde Valley.
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