Phoenix metropolitan area
The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the city of Phoenix. It includes much of central Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. It anchors the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion along with the second-most populous metropolitan area in the state, the Tucson metropolitan area. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix metropolitan area was $255 billion in 2018, 16th-largest amongst metro areas in the United States.
Phoenix metropolitan area
Valley of the Sun | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of downtown Phoenix in July 2011 | |
The Phoenix metropolitan area highlighted in a map of Arizona. | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| Largest city | Phoenix |
| Other Major Cities | • Maricopa County – Mesa – Chandler – Glendale – Scottsdale – Gilbert – Tempe – Peoria – Surprise • Pinal County – Casa Grande – Maricopa |
| Area | |
| • Metropolitan area | 14,598.63 sq mi (37,810.27 km2) |
| • Land | 14,565.76 sq mi (37,725.14 km2) |
| • Water | 32.87 sq mi (85.13 km2) |
| • Urban | 1,146.6 sq mi (2,969.6 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 4,890 ft (1,490.5 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 735 ft (224.03 m) |
| Population (Census 2020) | |
| • Metropolitan area | 4,845,832 |
| • Density | 332.7/sq mi (128.5/km2) |
| • Urban | 3,629,114 |
| • Urban density | 3,165.2/sq mi (1,222.1/km2) |
| GDP | |
| • MSA | $362.1 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (MST) |
| ZIP codes | 850xx to 853xx, 856xx |
| Area codes | 623, 602, 480, 520, 928 |
As of the 2020 census, the two-county metropolitan area had 4,845,832 residents, making it the 11th-largest metropolitan area in the nation by population. Metro Phoenix grew by 652,945 people from April 2010 to April 2020, making it one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. This also contributed to the entire state's exceptional growth; the area is home to just over two-thirds of Arizona's population. The population of the Phoenix metropolitan area increased by 45.3% from 1990 through 2000, compared to the overall U.S. rate of 13.2%, helping make Arizona the second-fastest growing state in the nation in the 1990s behind Nevada. The 2000 census reported the population of the metropolitan area to be 3,251,876. Water insecurity and drought in conjunction with climate change have become a significant concern for the metropolitan area's future growth prospects.