Somerton Economic Director Touts City's Business Growth and Housing Plans

Jazmin Zamudio spent years navigating Yuma County's economy from different angles: as a corrections officer, a small-business owner, and eventually as the economic development director for a city she says is primed for growth. On Sunday, she made the case for Somerton on KAWC's "What's Up Yuma?" podcast, outlining a strategy that pairs small-business support with targeted housing construction and a workforce pipeline anchored by a high school the community fought decades to build.

The roughly 30-minute interview covered what Zamudio and city leaders call Somerton's identity as the "Best Little City for Business" in Arizona, a branding effort backed by technical assistance programs, business incentives, and an outreach push aimed at both startups and multi-generational family businesses.

At just 1.3 square miles, Somerton is one of the most densely positioned cities in southern Yuma County, wedged between Yuma to the north and San Luis at the U.S.-Mexico border with Sonora to the south. That geography gives the city a commercial corridor advantage that few similarly sized municipalities can claim. Somerton's 14,594 residents, 95.4% of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino, carry a median age of just 30.5 years, well below state and national averages, representing both a labor pool and a consumer base that remains largely underserved by retail and employment options.

Central to Zamudio's pitch is Somerton High School, now entering its third year. Before the campus opened on August 3, 2023, Somerton held the distinction of being the largest city in Arizona without its own high school, a gap the community had worked to close for generations. The 150,000-square-foot facility, designed by DLR Group and built by McCarthy Building Companies, sits on land purchased in September 2017 and broke ground in November 2021. It accommodates up to 1,800 students and became the seventh school in the Yuma Union High School District. Its inaugural freshmen enrolled in fall 2023, putting the Class of 2027 on track to be the Toros' first graduating class. For an economic development official pitching the city to businesses and developers, a functioning high school carries practical weight: it signals institutional permanence and a workforce pipeline extending years into the future.

On housing, Zamudio pointed to new construction activity as evidence of what she described as "smart growth" the city intends to manage proactively. New homes in Somerton are currently listing at a median price near $309,000, with Hacienda Homes among the active builders, constructing three- and four-bedroom units. A separate 53-unit residential subdivision valued at approximately $20 million was in conceptual-planning stages as of 2023-24, a project that would add significant new density to a city where constrained land area makes every zoning decision consequential. The Community Development Department's Planning and Zoning Division oversees the subdivision reviews, zoning changes, and annexations that will ultimately define how much of that growth Somerton can absorb.

Zamudio came to the role by way of Salinas, California, before putting down roots in Yuma County. The median household income in Somerton reached $71,825 in 2023, and with the city projecting a population of roughly 14,755 by 2025 at a steady 0.6% annual growth rate, her office is betting that deliberate planning now can prevent the infrastructure strain that faster-growing communities so often confront too late.

The April 6 episode of "What's Up Yuma?" is available for on-demand listening through KAWC, which broadcasts on AM 1320 and FM 88.9 from its studios in the Matador Activity Center on the Arizona Western College campus.