Top 5 Major Cities in Arizona

• Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and it is the top major city in the state with a population of over 1.5 million
• Tucson, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert are four other major cities in Arizona state

Top 5 Major Cities in Arizona: Sixth largest state in United States of America by area and 14th largest by population is Arizona. The state has close to 7.6 million residents and an area of 295,254 sq km. Out of these 7.6 million people 1.6 million lives in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.

Arizona is home to The Grand Canyon, the world’s largest canyon by volume and area. It is the premier tourist destination in the state and is visited by more than 5 million tourists annually. Meteor Crater or Berringer Crater is an another popular tourist destination in the deserts of Arizona. It’s an 50,000 years old crater having a diameter of 1.2 km and is 560 feet deep. Close to 3 lakh tourists visit this crater every year that was used to train Apollo astronauts.

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Arizona has diverse economy which spans over to healthcare, copper mining and transportation primarily. Banner Health, a non-profit hospital operating chain is the largest employer in Arizona that employs 40,000 people in the state.

Copper is an important commodity for Arizona as the state constitutes 68% of the total copper production in USA. The state is known to produce one of the world’s highest quality cotton known as the Pima Cotton. After Arizona it can only be found in Egypt. Arizona is one of the four states in USA that commercially produces citrus as it receives 300 days of sunshine every year.

Phoenix – Most Populous State Capital in USA

The first major city in the list is Phoenix – the capital of Arizona. The city has a population of 1.6 million. Apart from being the most populous city in Arizona Phoenix is also the most populous state capital and 11th largest city by area in USA. It is known as the cultural centre of Arizona and has 42% Spanish population (one of the largest in USA).

With $31 billion real estate is the largest sector in the city followed by financial services at $21 billion. Phoenix is also a manufacturing hub for electronics, aircraft parts, missiles and processed foods. Healthcare, wholesale and retail are other major sectors in Phoenix’s economy. It is home to Luke Airforce Base that marks the military presence in the city. Honeywell Aerospace global Headquarters is located in Phoenix.

Tucson – Home to Aircraft Boneyard of USA

Founded as a military fort by Spanish, Tucson is the second populous city in Arizona with population close to 5.5 million. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is located here. This base is infamous for being a graveyard for all excess aircrafts of USA. The primary reason for choosing Tucson was its alkaline and dry climate which provides ideal environment for parking aircrafts as rusting won’t developed in such kind of environment. More than 4,000 aircrafts and jets are parked here.

US Airforce also operates 2,900 acre Airforce Plant 44 for missile manufacturing industry in Tucson. Raytheon manufactures Tomahawk cruise missile here and it is one of the few facilities in USA that produces fully assembled missiles. Apart from defense manufacturing Tucson has IBM, Texas Instruments, Honeywell Aerospace campuses located in the city. The IBM campus was established in 1970s in UA Tech park and is a powerhouse for company’s storage divison.

Mesa

The third major and most populous city in Arizona is Mesa. In USA it sits at 37th spot in population. The city is known for Mesa Arts Center, a 210,000 sq feet arts complex completed in 2005 at a cost of $95 million. A 3,648 acre Usery Mountain National Park in Sonoran Desert is located here which is a premier destination for hiking, mountain biking and camping.

From historical point of view one can visit Mesa Grande Cultural Park which contains traces of Hohokam people and the Arizona Museum of Natural History which contains the study of dinosaur skeletons.

Chandler

The 4th major city in the list is Chandler. One of the world’s largest computer components manufacturer Intel is the largest employer in the city. Intel employs 12,000 people at its Chandler Campus. Other big American MNCs like Financial services provider Wells Fargo, PayPal and Verizon too have their campuses in Chandler. Wells Fargo is the second largest employer in Chandler.

Gilbert – The Hay Shipping Capital Of The World

The last city in the list is Gilbert. The city has a nickname “The Hay Shipping Capital Of The World”. This nickname traces its origins to Second World War when the farmers of Gilbert supplied hays to the US Army for their horses as most of the city’s area was just hay farms.

William “Bobby” Gilbert is the one the city is named after. One can find the city’s history in the Gilbert Historical Museum. It is one of the most desirable suburbs in Phoenix with a population of close to 300,000. In a survey Gilbert ranked as the 2nd safest city in USA and 22nd best place to live in. From a small farming community to becoming one of the most desirable towns to live Gilbert has evolved a lot since its inception in 1920.

So these were the 5 major cities in Arizona. If you find this article interesting then please share. THANK YOU!