Phoenix Facts

Fun Facts About Phoenix

Phoenix is the United States’ fifth-largest city with a population of nearly 1.5 million. (The largest four are NYC, LA, Chicago and Houston. Phoenix is the fastest growing among the five).

Greater Phoenix (which includes, among others, the cities of Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale and Tempe) has a population of nearly 3.8 million and covers 2,000 square miles.

Maricopa County—where Greater Phoenix is located—covers 9,127 square miles.

Phoenix's elevation is 1,117 feet.

Greater Phoenix is located in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.

Phoenix averages more than 300 sun-filled days per year.

Phoenix has an average annual rainfall of 7.66 inches, an average annual temperature of 72.6 degrees and an annual high temperature of 85 degrees.

Greater Phoenix has more than 55,000 hotel rooms at nearly 400 hotels and more than 30 resort properties.

Greater Phoenix is home to over 200 golf courses.

Greater Phoenix consistently ranks among the nation’s top cities in the number of Five and Four Diamond and Five and Four Star resorts.

More than 13.5 million people visit Phoenix each year. More than 30 million people visit Arizona each year.

The typical visitor to Phoenix is 50 years old, has an average household income of $74,700 and spends 4.6 nights in the metro area.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is served by more than 20 airlines, and is a hub for two low-fare carriers: US Airways and Southwest Airlines.

Sky Harbor serves more than 41 million passengers a year, ranking it among the 10 busiest airports in the nation.

Phoenix is one of only 13 U.S. cities with franchises in all four major professional sports leagues: Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Arizona Cardinals (NFL) and Phoenix Coyotes (NHL).

Phoenix is one of only six U.S. cities with eight professional sports franchises: Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Arizona Cardinals (NFL), Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), Phoenix Mercury (WNBA), Arizona Rattlers (AFL), Arizona Sting (NLL) and Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL).

Greater Phoenix hosted Super Bowl XXX on Jan. 28, 1996, and will host Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, 2008.

Phoenix hosted the 2001 World Series and is the home of the World Series Champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Phoenix Suns have brought the NBA playoffs to US Airways Center 16 times in the past 18 seasons.

12 Major League Baseball teams conduct spring training in the Cactus League, which in 2007 drew more than 1 million fans for the sixth consecutive year.

Greater Phoenix is home to nine Cactus League franchises: San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and Anaheim Angels. (The Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox train in Tucson.)

University of Phoenix Stadium, home of Super Bowl XLII, is the only stadium in North America with both a retractable fabric roof and a roll-out grass field.

Three pro golf tournaments have regular stops in Phoenix: The FBR Open (PGA), the Safeway International LPGA Tournament, the Standard Register Turquoise Classic (LPGA) and the Nationwide Tour’s Gila River Classic.

The FBR Open, played each February at the TPC Scottsdale, is the best-attended event on the PGA Tour, averaging more than 500,000 spectators. The event raised a PGA Tour-record $6.8 million for charity in 2007.

Greater Phoenix is home to college football’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Insight Bowl. The 2007 BCS National Championship was played at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Phoenix is home to many different motor sports. Included are Indy Car and NASCAR events at Phoenix International Raceway, drag racing at Manzanita Speedway and boat racing at Firebird International Raceway.

Greater Phoenix’s major industries are (1) high-tech manufacturing, (2) tourism and (3) construction.

Greater Phoenix is the corporate headquarters for companies such as Intel, Avnet, Motorola, AlliedSignal, Honeywell and Boeing.

Phoenix is home to the largest municipal park in the world. South Mountain Park and Preserve covers more than 16,500 acres and has more than 50 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails.

There are six lakes within a 75-minute drive of Phoenix.

Phoenix has museums to suit nearly every taste. The Heard Museum (Native American); Desert Botanical Garden (the world's largest collection of desert plants); Taliesin West (home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation); the Phoenix Art Museum (the Southwest's largest art museum); the Fleischer Museum (American Impressionism); the Arizona Science Center; the Hall of Flame (featuring the world's largest collection of fire-fighting equipment); Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park (Native American) and the Phoenix Museum of History are among the cultural hot spots.

The Heard Museum has an extensive collection of Native American artifacts, including the largest kachina doll collection (donated in part by the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater) of any museum in the country.

Arizona is home to 23 reservations representing 21 different Native American tribes.