Phoenix, United States Population

Population in Urban Area, now

4,669,809
  • World: 96th
  • North America: 14th
  • United States: 10th

Phoenix Urban Area Population Graph

Phoenix Population Review

Phoenix is a city of 1.7 million people located in the state of Arizona in the southwestern United States. It is the capital of Arizona and the most-populous city in the state. It is the fifth-most populated city in the country and is the state capital with the largest population and the only state capital that has over one million residents.

The city of Phoenix is contained within the Phoenix metropolitan area. This is part of the Valley of the Sun, which is also part of the larger Salt River Valley. With just over 4.7 million people, Phoenix is the eleventh most populated metro area in the United States. The city is also one of the largest in physical size in the country, spanning over 1,300 square kilometers, twice the size of the city of Tucson.

A city heavily affected by the mortgage crisis

Phoenix was the fastest growing city in the country for over a decade until the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the recession hit. This led to a slowing of growth. In 2006, the city added 162,000 people, but during the crisis the city only added around 77,000 people. This slowing resulted in Phoenix having the lowest recorded growth rate in the census history. However, in 2016 the city once again became the fastest growing city in the in the country once again, adding 88 people to its population every day during the preceding year. By 2035, the Greater Phoenix Area is predicted to have a population total of 5.3 million.

The Phoenix economy

The financial crisis of 2007 to 2010 caused the construction industry in Phoenix to collapse and housing prices plunged. Due to the prominence of real estate and construction in Phoenix’s economy meant the city led the country in the recession. The city has since rebounded and regained 83% of the jobs lost during the recession. The city has four Fortune 500 companies and Intel has one of the largest sites in the area, employing 12,000 people.

A predominantly white city

Since its founding, Phoenix has been a predominantly white city. From 1890 to 1970, almost 90% of the city’s residents were white. This has since dropped to about 65% in 2010. A large portion of this decrease can be attributed to a change to the U.S. Census when a question about Hispanic background, which has led to many people to self-identify as “other race” and not white. Currently, the city is 65% white with 46% identifying as non-Hispanic. Black and African American residents make up 6.5% of the population and 2.2% of the population are Native American, while 3.2% are Asian.

A city for snowbirds

Phoenix has over 100 days a year where the temperature soars over 100°F and is sunnier than any other major metropolitan area in the United States. The elevation of the city also makes the air dry and the heat more comfortable. This combination attracts many seasonal tourists known as ‘snowbirds’. There are 400,000 winter visitors that visit Phoenix each year. The economic impact of snowbirds is quite valuable to the city, and they inject around $1 billion into the economy.

Tourism and hospitality are a big part of Phoenix’s economy, and the city has many four and five star resorts. There are over 500 hotels and 40 resort properties in the city, with over 62,000 quest rooms.

A golfing hotspot

The Greater Phoenix area has become one of the top golf destinations in the world. It has over 200 golf courses spread throughout the metropolitan area. The city also hosts the Phoenix Open, a four-day tournament that is attended by about half a million people fans—making it the best-attended event in golf.

Review Updated: October 2, 2020

Phoenix Urban Area Population History

1950 221,000
1951 243,000
1952 267,000
1953 293,000
1954 322,000
1955 353,000
1956 388,000
1957 426,000
1958 468,000
1959 514,000
1960 558,000
1961 584,000
1962 610,000
1963 638,000
1964 668,000
1965 698,000
1966 730,000
1967 763,000
1968 798,000
1969 835,000
1970 874,000
1971 918,000
1972 964,000
1973 1,012,000
1974 1,063,000
1975 1,117,000
1976 1,173,000
1977 1,231,000
1978 1,293,000
1979 1,358,000
1980 1,422,000
1981 1,473,000
1982 1,526,000
1983 1,581,000
1984 1,637,000
1985 1,696,000
1986 1,757,000
1987 1,820,000
1988 1,886,000
1989 1,954,000
1990 2,025,000
1991 2,101,000
1992 2,181,000
1993 2,263,000
1994 2,349,000
1995 2,437,000
1996 2,530,000
1997 2,625,000
1998 2,724,000
1999 2,827,000
2000 2,923,000
2001 2,989,000
2002 3,056,000
2003 3,124,000
2004 3,194,000
2005 3,266,000
2006 3,339,000
2007 3,414,000
2008 3,491,000
2009 3,569,000
2010 3,649,000
2011 3,731,000
2012 3,815,000
2013 3,900,000
2014 3,988,000
2015 4,077,000
2016 4,169,000
2017 4,263,000
2018 4,359,000
2019 4,436,000
2020 4,511,000
2021 4,584,000
2022 4,652,000
2023 4,717,000
2024 4,777,000

Phoenix Urban Area Population Projections

2025 4,834,000
2026 4,887,000
2027 4,938,000
2028 4,987,000
2029 5,034,000
2030 5,081,000
2031 5,126,000
2032 5,171,000
2033 5,215,000
2034 5,258,000
2035 5,301,000

Map of Phoenix, United States

Other Biggest Cities in the United States