Cottonwood is considered a Large Town with a population of 12,023 and 2,881 businesses. 28 in 2018 were added to the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce business directory which was less than 2017 which had 47.

The economy of Cottonwood employs 6,396 people and has an unemployment rate of 8.2%. Some of the largest industries in Cottonwood are Professional Services (152),Restaurants (87), and Entertainment Agencies & Bureaus (85).