Regional Overview

Area

When it comes to population and growth statistics for planning by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), statistics vary by three different types of geography:

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) area
The MAG MPO area is 10,654 square miles and consists of 27 cities and towns, three Native American Indian Communities, all of Maricopa County, and portions of Pinal County.
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale Metropolitan Statistical Area (Phoenix MSA)
The Phoenix MSA includes all of Maricopa and Pinal counties and is 14,587 square miles (Maricopa County, 9,223 square miles and Pinal County, 5,364 square miles).

MAG Planning Area

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Population

The population of the MAG MPO is 4.5 million (July 1, 2017, estimate), which is 64.4% of the state's population.
The population of the Phoenix MSA is approximately 4.65 million (July 1, 2017, estimate), with a projected population of 7.7 million by 2050. The Phoenix MSA makes up 66.7% of the state's population.
The population of Maricopa County is approximately 4.22 million (July 1, 2017 estimate), with a projected population of 6.7 million by 2050. Maricopa County includes 60.6% of the state's population and contains nine of the ten cities in Arizona with a population above 100,000.
The population of the Sun Corridor (Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima Counties) is approximately 5.58 million, which is 81.5% of the state’s population.
Arizona's population is 6.97 million (July 1, 2017, estimate).
Since 1980, Maricopa County's population has been among the fastest growing in the nation. Average annual growth had slowed during the recession and has begun to pick up, increasing from 1.1% in 2012 to 2.0% growth in 2017. The county continues to show stronger annual growth than the state, which grew 1.0% from 2013 to 2017.

Population Growth

Date	Maricopa County Population*	Average Annual Growth	Arizona Population*	Average Annual Growth	U.S. Population*	Average Annual Growth
1980	1,509,000	4.50%	2,718,000	4.4%	226,542,000	1.1%
1990	2,122,000	3.50%	3,665,000	3.0%	248,710,000	0.9%
2000	3,072,000	3.80%	5,131,000	3.4%	281,422,000	1.2%
2010	3,817,000	2.20%	6,392,000	2.2%	308,746,000	0.9%
2012	3,885,000	1.10%	6,499,000	0.9%	314,112,000	0.8%
2013	3,945,000	1.50%	6,581,000	1.3%	316,498,000	0.8%
2014	4,009,000	1.60%	6,667,000	1.3%	318,857,000	0.7%
2015	4,076,000	1.70%	6,758,000	1.4%	321,419,000	0.8%
2016	4,137,000	1.50%	6,836,000	1.2%	323,128,000	0.5%
2017	4,222,000	2.0%	6,966,000	1.9%	325,719,000	0.8%
2020	4,481,000	2.00%	7,347,000	1.8%	334,503,000	0.9%
2030	5,280,000	1.70%	8,536,000	1.5%	359,402,000	0.7%
2040	6,031,000	1.30%	9,707,000	1.3%	380,219,000	0.6%
2050	6,698,000	1.10%	10,821,000	1.1%	398,328,000	0.5%

Arizona and Maricopa County estimates and projections from the Arizona State Demographer’s Office; U.S. estimates and projections from the U.S. Census Bureau
*Population rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Employment

The annual average 2017 non-farm employment for the Phoenix MSA was estimated at 2.017 million, which is 73% of employment in Arizona.
The average weekly wage in the Phoenix MSA for the 2nd quarter of 2017 was $980, which is in the top 15% of all MSAs.

Land Ownership (MPO)

From Arizona State Land Department 2016

29.4% of land ownership is private
27% is U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
12.4% is State Trust land
12% is forest, park, or national monument
10.7% is military
8% is Indian Community
0.5% is other public

Tax Statistics

Over $4 billion in sales tax revenue was collected in Maricopa County during FY 2017, a 4.1% increase from FY 2016.
The Phoenix MSA accounted for 72.1% of the total sales tax collected by county in FY 2017.
The Sun Corridor accounted for 85.1% of the total sales tax in the state for FY 2017.

FY 2016-2017 Sales Tax* Collection

Area	Total Collections	Change from FY 2015	Percent of State Total
Maricopa Co.	$4,006,019,907	4.1%	69.4%
Phoenix MSA	$4,162,073,938	4.1%	72.1%
Sun Corridor	$4,911,168,305	3.9%	85.1%
Arizona	$5,770,255,663	3.8%	100.0%

* Transaction Privilege and Severance Tax
Source: Arizona Department of Revenue 2017 Annual Report