State Data

  • State capital: Phoenix
  • State nickname: Grand Canyon State
  • State population: 5,307,331
  • State population under 18: 26.6%
  • State population over 65: 13.0
  • State area (in square mileage): 114,000
     
  • State taxes per capita: $1,488 
  • State flower: Saguaro (giant cactus)
  • State bird: Wren (Cactus Wren)




 

City Data

Time zone: Mountain

Area code: 602 and 520

County: Maricopa County, Ariz.

Land area: 469 square miles

Altitude: 1,090 feet above sea level

Derivation of name: From the mythological bird that rises to life again from the ashes of its own funeral pyre

Nickname(s) or motto: City Where Summer Winters; Metropolis of the Desert; Valley in the Sun

Major suburbs/neighboring cities: Gilbert, Ariz., Mesa, Ariz., Tempe, Ariz., Scottsdale, Ariz., Peoria, Ariz., Sun City, Ariz., and Glendale, Ariz.

History: Settled 1870; incorporated as city 1881; became territorial capital 1889

Total population (Maricopa County): 3,194,798

Population density: 333.8 people per square mile

Population growth (1990-2000): 44.8%

Projected population growth, by state (projected population change: 1988 through 2020):
44.4 percent (for Arizona)

Per capita income (for the metropolitan statistical area, or MSA): $24,601 

Median household income: $40,134




 

Housing

Median home-resale price:

  • U.S. average:  $150,900
  • Phoenix, Ariz.:  $156,500 (Metro Phoenix area)
  • Arizona: $144,995

Typical corporate-level home (single-family, four-bedroom, 2-˝-bath, 2,200-square-foot dwelling with two-car garage):

  • $190,000 (for Phoenix, Ariz.)
  • N/A (for Glendale, Ariz., specifically)
  • $190,600 (for Scottsdale, Ariz.)
  • $139,650 (for Mesa, Ariz.)
  • $167,725 (for Tempe, Ariz.)
  • $185,333 (for Tucson, Ariz.)

Annual rent, by state (annual rent per $10,000 of household income) :
$1,612 each year (for Arizona)

Property taxes, by state (property taxes per capita):
$636 per capita (for Arizona)




 

Transportation

Types of mass transit available: One international airport; five railroads; transcontinental bus line; public-transit system

National airport ranking, by number of passengers enplaned:
No. 7 in United States (Phoenix, Sky Harbor International)

On-time flight arrivals: 73.4 percent

On-time flight departures: 74.7 percent




 

Economy

Annual cost-of-living index (2001)

  • U.S. average: 100.0
  • For Phoenix, Ariz. (with index weight for each component shown as percentage):
    --Composite (100% composite index): 102.5
    --Grocery items (16%): 104.9
    --Housing (28%): 100.9
    --Utilities (8%): 101.2
    --Transportation (10%): 109.1
    --Health care (5%): 118.8
    --Miscellaneous goods and services (33%): 98.6

Taxes for Arizona

  • Maximum personal income tax:  5.6 percent
  • Sales tax:  5.0 percent
  • Annual per capita taxes paid:
    --U.S. average:  $1,581
    --Arizona residents:  $1,447 (22nd lowest in United States)

Average tax burden (for a family of four with a $50,000 annual income)

  • U.S. city average:  $4,305 (or 8.6 percent of annual income)
  • Phoenix:  $4,048 (or 8.1 percent of annual income)




 

Business

Unemployment rate November 2002 (Phoenix): 5.2%

Unemployment rate November 2001 (Phoenix): 5.1%

Unemployment rate November 2001 (Arizona):5.6%

Unemployment rate November 2001 (Arizona): 5.4%

Civilians employed -- April 2001 (for Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz.): 1,577,724

Civilians unemployed -- April 2001 (Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz.): 86,015

Projected job growth, by state (projected employment change: 1988 through 2020):
41.4 percent (for Arizona)

Projected income growth, by state (projected per-capita income change: 1988 through 2020):
34.2 percent (for Arizona)




 

Health Care

Number of hospitals: 20 hospitals; one medical-research center

Average daily cost of a community-hospital patient, by state (per $10,000 of per-capita income):
$523 each day (for Arizona)

Life expectancy, by state (average lifetime in years):
74.30 years (for Arizona)

Number of community hospitals (for Arizona): 92 community hospitals total

Number of nursing homes (for Arizona): 162 nursing homes total




 

Crime

Phoenix's annual crime rates per 100,000 people (2002):

  • Number of robberies: 285
  • Number of rapes:  32
  • Number of homicides:  12
  • Number of aggravated assaults: 410
  • Number of motor-vehicle thefts: 1474
  • Phoenix has a Relocation Crime Lab Index of 179, which is a somewhat higher crime rate than the national average

[The Relocation Crime Lab Index gives the city's crime rate relative to the average of nearly 500 total cities nationwide. A value of 100 means that the city is exactly average. A value of 200 means that the city has twice the crime rate as the average city. A value of 50 means that the city has half the crime rate of the average city. Please note that the number of crimes reported has been adjusted to yield a rate per 100,000. (THE RELOCATION CRIME LAB is derived by The Homebuyer's Fair from data reported for 2000 by various government, regional and local sources.)]




 

Education

Educational facilities: 88 institutions of higher learning; 186 public schools

Maricopa County, Ariz.

Total public-school student population: 70,035 students total

Total number of public elementary and secondary schools: 71 schools total

Spending per pupil (through 12th grade): $3,870 per student each year

High-school graduates, Maricopa County(persons aged 25 years or older who are high-school graduates):
1,095,840

College graduates, Maricopa County (persons aged 25 years or older who are college graduates):
297,573

Local colleges and universities:

  • Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, Glendale, Ariz.
  • Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
  • Arizona State University West, Glendale
  • Gate Way Community College, Phoenix
  • Glendale Community College, Glendale
  • Grand Canyon University, Phoenix
  • Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, Ariz.
  • South Mountain Community College, Phoenix




 

Weather

Average temperature in January
(daily mean temperature in Fahrenheit degrees): 53.6 degrees

Average temperature in July
(daily mean temperature in Fahrenheit degrees): 93.5 degrees

Average annual snowfall: Only a trace amount annually

Seasonal average humidity: 37.5 percent

Average number of rainy days each year: 36 rainy days annually

Winter temperature range (in Fahrenheit degrees): 41-71 degrees

Spring temperature range (in Fahrenheit degrees): 49-94 degrees

Summer temperature range (in Fahrenheit degrees): 73-106 degrees

Fall temperature range (in Fahrenheit degrees): 49-99 degrees

Click

here for today's weather in Phoenix



 

Off Hours

[Note: For more in-depth information on restaurants, lodging, outdoor recreation, cultural happenings, the arts or other items of local interest, please go to the city-specific website(s) listed at the end of this city's profile]

Golf courses/holes: 981 (Phoenix)

Zoos:

  • Phoenix Zoo
    --Located at 455 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix (602/273-1341)
    --Opened in 1962, zoo occupies 125 acres in Papago Park
    --Site served as an Arizona Game and Fish Department fish hatchery before becoming a zoo

Professional sports teams:

  • Phoenix Suns, national basketball association
  • Arizona Cardinals, national football league (Tempe, Ariz.)
  • Arizona Diamondbacks, major league baseball
  • Phoenix Coyotes, national hockey league
  • Phoenix Mustangs, west coast hockey league
  • Arizona Rattlers, arena football league

Museums for Arizona:

  • Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon, Ariz.
    --Founded in 1937, dedicated to the study and interpretation of Native American culture and lifeways
    --Concentrates its research upon topics pertinent to American aouthwestern studies
  • Archaeological Research Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
    --Maintains collections from archaeological projects conducted in central Arizona
  • Arizona Historical Society, Tucson, Ariz.
  • Arizona Science Center, Phoenix
  • Arizona State Museum - University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
    --More than 100 years old, this museum, located upon the University of Arizona campus, collects, displays and interprets objects and information about the native peoples of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
  • Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Ariz.
    --The Museum that presented "Bill Viola: Buried Secrets" at the 1995 Venice Biennale, the first institution West of the Mississippi to represent the United States at this U.S. pavilion
  • Deer Valley Rock Art Center, Phoenix, Ariz.
    --Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site, with intorduction to rock art
  • Fleischer Museum of American and Russian Impressionism, Scottsdale, Ariz.
    --The paintings in this collection are American Impressionism, California School and Russian and Soviet Realism, tempered by Impressionism
    --The genres are varied and include landscapes, architectural subjects and "still life"
  • Heard Museum, Phoenix
    --Specializes in contemporary and archaeological Native-American material
  • International Wildlife Museum, Tucson, Ariz.
    --Mammals, birds and insects from around the world
    --Hands-on exhibits, interactive computers, pre-historic mammals
    --Tucson's interactive natural-history museum
  • Pecos Rio Grande Museum of Early Man, Arivaca, Ariz.
    --Coming soon point-making tools, then fire-making tools
    --Most items are from the Archaic period in western Texas
  • Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix
    --The largest art museum in the Southwest
    --Features special exhibitions and permanent collections in American, European, Asian, contemporary, western American and Latin American art, fashion design and Thorne miniature rooms of historic interiors
    --Also there: the interactive ArtWorks Gallery for children, museum store and café
  • Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, Phoenix
    --Features a prehistoric Hohokam ruin and exhibits on Hohokam culture and archaeology
  • Rim Country Museum, Payson, Ariz.
    --Cultural heritage of the central Arizona highlands (Rim Country) from the earliest peoples through the pioneers
  • Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMOCA), Scottsdale, Ariz.
    --A museum dedicated to contemporary art in the heart of downtown Scottsdale
  • Tempe Historical Museum, Tempe, Ariz.
    --Includes online exhibits, a tour of our research holdings and a guide to local historic buildings
  • The Golden Era Museum, Coolidge, Ariz.
    --The Fred and Elaine Goulden toy collection now open to the public
    --Several thousand toys and dolls from 1890s' cast iron to mid-1900s' modern
  • University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Ariz.
    --Includes a permanent -gallery exhibition

Symphony orchestras:

  • Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, housed at the Historic Old Mission Church, Scottsdale, Ariz.




 

Religious Institutions

  • At least 695 religious institutions of various denominations located within Phoenix, Ariz.
  • At least 450 religious institutions of various denominations located within Tucson, Ariz.




 

Local Publications

Arizona Republic
120 East Van Buren Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
 602-271-8000

Phoenix Business Journal
2910 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85012
602-230-8400

Phoenix Magazine
5555 North Seventh Avenue
Suite B-200
Phoenix, AZ 85013-1755
 602-207-3750

The Tribune
120 West First Avenue
Mesa, AZ 85210
602-898-6500




 

Sources of Information

(If desired, please also refer to profiles for other Arizona cities: Glendale; Mesa; and Tucson)

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
201 North Central Avenue
27th Floor (Suite 2700)
Phoenix, AZ 85073
602-254-5521

Phoenix and The Valley of the Sun Convention and Visitors Bureau
One Arizona Center
400 East Van Buren
Suite 600
Phoenix, AZ 85004
602-254-6500

Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau
120 North Center
Mesa, AZ 85201
800-283-6372 or 602-827-4700

The Mesa Chamber of Commerce
120 North Center Street
Mesa, Arizona 85201
(B) 602/969-1307

Glendale Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 249
7105 North 59th Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85311
602-9374754




 

Additional Information

Website: http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us

http://www.phoenixchamber.com

http://www.ci.mesa.az.us

http://www.arizonaguide.com/mesa

(or http://www.arizonaguide.com/cities/mesa/index.html)

http://www.mesachamber.org

www.glendaleazchamber.org