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These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Arizona

By Chris Kolmar
Oct. 10, 2016

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnameable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Arizona. And here they are:

  1. Litchfield Park
  2. Queen Creek
  3. Paradise Valley
  4. Gilbert
  5. Sahuarita
  6. Marana
  7. Cave Creek
  8. Oro Valley
  9. Fountain Hills
  10. Chandler

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

For more AZ reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Arizona

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Litchfield Park

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 5,122Median Income: $76,290
Poverty Level: 3.6%
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%

2. Queen Creek

Population: 28,529Median Income: $83,809
Poverty Level: 6.7%
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%

3. Paradise Valley

Population: 13,243Median Income: $134,097
Poverty Level: 8.6%
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

4. Gilbert

Population: 223,131Median Income: $81,485
Poverty Level: 6.4%
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%

5. Sahuarita

Population: 26,441Median Income: $65,183
Poverty Level: 5.0%
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%

6. Marana

Population: 37,028Median Income: $74,817
Poverty Level: 4.2%
Unemployment Rate: 7.3%

7. Cave Creek

Population: 5,014Median Income: $78,972
Poverty Level: 8.1%
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%

8. Oro Valley

Population: 41,493Median Income: $74,480
Poverty Level: 6.0%
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%

9. Fountain Hills

Population: 23,051Median Income: $72,462
Poverty Level: 6.3%
Unemployment Rate: 7.7%

10. Chandler

Population: 245,231Median Income: $72,072
Poverty Level: 8.5%
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Litchfield Park and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Arizona

Rank City Median Income Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate
1 Litchfield Park $76,290 3.6% 3.2%
2 Queen Creek $83,809 6.7% 4.2%
3 Paradise Valley $134,097 8.6% 3.3%
4 Gilbert $81,485 6.4% 6.3%
5 Sahuarita $65,183 5.0% 3.8%
6 Marana $74,817 4.2% 7.3%
7 Cave Creek $78,972 8.1% 6.3%
8 Oro Valley $74,480 6.0% 7.4%
9 Fountain Hills $72,462 6.3% 7.7%
10 Chandler $72,072 8.5% 6.7%
11 Scottsdale $72,455 8.8% 6.3%
12 Maricopa $65,214 6.0% 7.4%
13 Goodyear $70,293 9.4% 6.6%
14 Snowflake $60,886 10.8% 5.7%
15 Peoria $63,025 9.5% 7.6%
16 Sierra Vista $58,818 12.2% 8.2%
17 Surprise $59,094 10.5% 9.4%
18 Sedona $50,133 10.9% 8.9%
19 Buckeye $58,703 13.2% 9.0%
20 Florence $48,503 16.8% 7.2%
21 Avondale $57,170 14.9% 9.5%
22 Mesa $48,259 15.7% 9.1%
23 El Mirage $47,564 16.4% 9.1%
24 Page $54,208 18.5% 9.6%
25 Chino Valley $43,238 17.0% 7.9%
26 Payson $42,987 16.2% 8.9%
27 Globe $42,639 16.7% 8.2%
28 Wickenburg $38,916 19.7% 7.1%
29 Tempe $48,183 23.7% 9.0%
30 Flagstaff $48,120 26.2% 8.5%
31 Phoenix $46,881 20.5% 9.9%
32 Prescott Valley $42,973 16.2% 10.0%
33 Glendale $46,855 19.5% 11.1%
34 Safford $46,140 15.5% 13.2%
35 Lake Havasu City $42,718 15.9% 10.8%
36 Casa Grande $44,719 16.8% 11.7%
37 Yuma $44,166 16.2% 12.4%
38 Bisbee $33,722 26.1% 6.8%
39 Prescott $45,190 21.0% 11.2%
40 Kingman $42,859 22.5% 11.0%
41 Holbrook $43,705 24.1% 11.9%
42 Benson $36,184 24.1% 10.7%
43 Show Low $39,795 17.2% 16.1%
44 Tucson $37,149 24.5% 12.1%
45 Bullhead City $37,121 20.6% 14.5%
46 Winslow $40,556 20.9% 15.5%
47 Youn $35,737 20.7% 15.3%
48 Coolidge $40,875 27.9% 13.4%
49 Cottonwood $32,712 25.9% 12.2%
50 Apache Junction $36,771 24.3% 16.3%
51 Camp Verde $35,809 32.4% 12.7%
52 Douglas $26,222 30.4% 12.2%
53 Guadalupe $29,517 22.7% 16.3%
54 Tolleson $34,485 27.2% 16.1%
55 Nogales $27,567 29.2% 14.9%
56 San Luis $31,064 26.5% 17.2%
57 Somerton $31,178 28.1% 17.0%
58 Eloy $27,701 31.6% 19.7%
59 South Tucson $23,778 42.8% 20.8%
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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