Fastest Growing County in the Nation – Home to Phoenix, Arizona

Interesting choice of title for article in the Arizona Republic for the just released census updates:

Valley population gains moderating

Last year, Maricopa County (home to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and most of the metropolitan Phoenix area) was the fastest growing county in the U.S. based on number of residents added, according to a just released census estimate.  Our growth has slowed, yet the county is still growing, adding more than 100,000 residents last year, which the author indicates is “so far is the lowest rate this decade, but still enough to call it a boom.”

And where are our new residents coming from:

• 40% of the increase is from natural causes (births)
• 39% are moving here from other states
• 21% are moving to Maricopa county from other countries

That means that approximately 60,000 people moved to Phoenix last year and need to buy or rent a home.  165 people have been moving to Maricopa County a day.  Wow. 

So if you are thinking about a move to the Phoenix Metropolitan area, please know that Elliot D. Pollack has excellent economic data and forecasts on his ArizonaEconomy.com web site.  From there, you will find that the majority of our new residents, relocating from other parts of the country, are coming from California, the “Rust Belt”, other states in the Southwest, and the Northeast.

One of his recent reports, “Greater Phoenix Economy: What you need to know….”, has a wealth of information for a business person considering a move to the Phoenix area. In reading this report, I was taken back to my grade school days, where we were taught that Arizona was developed on the 4 C’s: Cattle, Copper, Cotton, and Citrus.  (In this report, an obvious fifth C has been added – Climate!)

Today, Phoenix’s economy is based on:

• Aerospace
• High-tech
• Advanced Business Services
• Transportation, Distribution, & Wholesale Trade
• Tourism
• Retirement & Second Home

Every time I read one of these reports, I get excited about living in Arizona, and specifically, the Phoenix-Scottsdale area:

Here are a few more of the “fun facts” that I discovered, or was reminded, of this morning:

• Phoenix is sunny 86% of the year (compare to Seattle at 43% and Chicago at 54%)
• The median age in the area is 33, lower than the national average of 35 years.
• Phoenix is the #4 move-to destination for young, single, educated adults.
• When compared to peer metro areas, Phoenix ranks 6th in median household income (when adjusted for cost of living)

So while real estate sales have slowed, and there’s much discussion about whether or not we are in a recession, I like to operate from the “glass half full” perspective and see that the job market in Phoenix has evolved, we still have great weather, and people moving to the area still need a place to live.

If you have any questions or would like some more info about the area, just let me know.