In 2023, the population of the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metropolitan area in the United States was about 5.1 million people. This is a slight increase from the previous year, when the population was about 5.02 million people.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Phoenix metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (MSA) (PHXPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about Phoenix, AZ, residents, population, and USA.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Phoenix population over the last 20 plus years. It lists the population for each year, along with the year on year change in population, as well as the change in percentage terms for each year. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population change of Phoenix across the last two decades. For example, using this dataset, we can identify if the population is declining or increasing. If there is a change, when the population peaked, or if it is still growing and has not reached its peak. We can also compare the trend with the overall trend of United States population over the same period of time.

Key observations

In 2023, the population of Phoenix was 1.65 million, a 0.38% increase year-by-year from 2022. Previously, in 2022, Phoenix population was 1.64 million, an increase of 1.15% compared to a population of 1.63 million in 2021. Over the last 20 plus years, between 2000 and 2023, population of Phoenix increased by 322,874. In this period, the peak population was 1.68 million in the year 2019. The numbers suggest that the population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Data Coverage:

• From 2000 to 2023

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column displays the data year (Measured annually and for years 2000 to 2023)
• Population: The population for the specific year for the Phoenix is shown in this column.
• Year on Year Change: This column displays the change in Phoenix population for each year compared to the previous year.
• Change in Percent: This column displays the year on year change as a percentage. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Phoenix Population by Year. You can refer the same here

These data represent a geospatial analysis of Hispanic population as percentage of total population, population density for 2000 within the Greater Phoenix Area.

Graph and download economic data for Employed Persons in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (MSA) (LAUMT043806000000005) from Jan 1990 to Apr 2025 about Phoenix, AZ, household survey, employment, persons, and USA.

Population Density per square mile - 2000. Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/knb-lter-cap.20.6 for complete metadata about this dataset.

These data provide a spatial representation of the population change 1980 - 2000. Map Shows the census tracts that have experienced a doubling of population between 1980 and 1990 and between 1990 and 2000 in the central Arizona-Phoenix area.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (MSA) (LAUMT043806000000003A) from 1990 to 2024 about Phoenix, AZ, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

These data represent the general age distribution of the population for the greater Phoenix area, central Arizona, based on the 2000 Census.

The Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS) was established in 2001 as part of the Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project’s long-term monitoring program. Every five years, the PASS team surveys households in select neighborhoods in metropolitan Phoenix in order to better understand people’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors on environmental issues such heat stress and climate change, water scarcity and policy, landscape choices and management, and urban wildlife and biodiversity. In 2001, the first PASS was piloted in 8 neighborhoods (n= 302) in the City of Phoenix, Arizona.

Aiming for about 20 respondents per neighborhood, the 2006 (n= 808) and 2011 (n= 806) samples were expanded to cover a broader range of neighborhoods (40-45) that better represent the geography of the greater metropolitan area, both in terms of location and demographics. In order to characterize and examine residents’ views and practices in particular Phoenix-area neighborhoods, the 2017 survey was redesigned to target a larger number of people (~65) in fewer (12) neighborhoods across the region. The new sampling design allows for intensive neighborhood analyses that link residents’ perceptions, attitudes, and decisions to the local ecology (e.g., urban infrastructure, landscape attributes, species composition).

The 2017 PASS neighborhoods were distributed across CAP LTER ecological monitoring sites at green/blue infrastructure such as the Salt River, Tempe Town Lake, and Indian Bend Wash, in addition to desert preserves such as South Mountain Park and McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Ecological data also collected at these sites included climate and temperature data, nutrient fluxes, and wildlife community measurements. In each neighborhood, for example, the local bird community was measured at three point-count stations so that we can link biodiversity metrics to people’s views and actions that affect them. Overall, the 2017 PASS survey explores major themes integral for understanding social-ecological system dynamics including urban ecosystem services, environmental satisfaction and perceptions, and vulnerability and adaptation to various urban ecological risks.

In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployed Persons in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (MSA) (LAUMT043806000000004) from Jan 1990 to Apr 2025 about Phoenix, AZ, household survey, unemployment, persons, and USA.

Change in percent of Hispanic population from 1980-2000 for the Phoenix metropolitan area covered by the Central Arizona-Phoenix long term ecological research (CAP LTER) project.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (MSA) (LAUMT043806000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Phoenix, AZ, civilian, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

These data represent individuals admitted to non-federal health facilities and discharged with primary diagnosis of asthma. The data are presented as a percentage of population by zip code for the year 1999.

Distribution of Ragweed pollen sampled in Greater Phoenix

The spread of urbanization is inevitable in both the developed and developing nations of the world. As cities continue to spread the impact on the environment, flora and fauna of their local ecosystems increases. In a southwestern U.S. city (Phoenix, AZ), we assess the effects of urban development on the local raptor population both in terms of casualties and nesting behavior.

Wildlife communities are structured by numerous ecological filters in cities that influence their populations, and some species even manage to thrive in urban landscapes. CAP researchers were the first to observe “the luxury effect”, the hypothesis that biodiversity is positively related to income of residents. The luxury effect is still being tested worldwide twenty years later and has led to important new research on other socio-demographic factors that shape biodiversity but are vastly understudied, such as race and ethnicity, as well as the interaction of these factors with urban structural inequalities that may be hidden by income. This research aims to unpack the luxury effect by considering other landscape and socio-demographic factors that may influence wildlife communities across neighborhoods of metro Phoenix. Specifically, we are investigating if neighborhood income and ethnicity independently influence mammal occupancy in neighborhoods across the CAP ecosystem. To answer this question, we leveraged a wildlife camera array across CAP within community parks, in which cameras are placed across a gradient of average median household income and percent Latinx of residents. Incorporating socioeconomic data into urban mammal research will allow for the advancement in the understanding of socio-ecological patterns.

This dataset contains Community Statistical Areas (CSAs) boundaries created by the Arizona Department of Health Services to represent Arizona communities while maintaining population numbers sufficient for statistical analysis. Using census tracts as the base geography, CSAs are updated every Census using a repeatable rule based methodology intended to preserve community boundaries, provide population numbers conducive to statistical analysis, and account for demographic variation.Summary:139 Community Statistical Areas56 in metro Phoenix area20 in metro Tucson areaPopulations of 10,000-200,000 (except tribal areas)Areas no greater than 7,500 square miles (except tribal areas)Reflect existing communities, including cities, towns, municipal planning areas (i.e. City of Phoenix Villages), and Tribal lands (reservations) A crosswalk between Census 2020 Tracts and CSAs is available here.Update Frequency: Every 10 Years (Decennial census)