Report: Mesa third-largest community in Arizona, but behind state average in growth

By Connor Van Ligten
Mail

Mesa is the third-largest community in Arizona, but its growth rate of 0.9% for the year ending July 1 puts it behind the state average, according to new estimates by the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Mesa’s population of 529,391 ranks it third in the state and second in the Valley by total population, behind only Phoenix at 1,709,489, and Tucson at 557,901. Mesa’s total population is more than that of Chandler (288,229), Gilbert (294,689), Glendale (265.599), Tempe (196,001) and various other Valley communities.

The city’s growth rate of 0.9% is below the state average of 1.3%. However, Mesa’s growth rate is higher than other major cities in the state, including Phoenix at 0.7%, Tucson at 0.1%, Scottsdale at 0.4%, Chandler at 0.7% and more. Major cities with a growth rate higher than Mesa inlcude Glendale at 1.8%, Tempe at 1.3%, Peoria at 1.5%, Surprise at 4.2% and more.

The Arizona Commerce Authority states more than 97,000 people moved to Arizona in the last year. Nearly one out of every eight of those people landed in Phoenix. Despite a smaller total population than Tucson, Mesa added 4,499 new residents in the year ending July 1, as opposed to just 682 for Tucson. Mesa’s population is within 29,000 of Tucson.

The three highest-growth communities in the state are Apache Junction with growth of 8.0%, Queen Creek with 7.7%, and Maricopa with 6.7%.

With 79,796 residents, Flagstaff was the most populated community in the state to experience negative growth, with the city shrinking by 1.5%. Flagstaff joined Bisbee at -1.5% and Winslow at -1.2% as the three Arizona communities that saw negative growth, according to the data.

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Connor Van Ligten
Reporter | Fountain Hills/Scottsdale

cvanligten@iniusa.org

After graduating from Arizona State University's Cronkite School in spring 2022, Connor Van Ligten spent a little over year as a reporter for WWL-TV in New Orleans before finding themselves back in Phoenix in October of 2023. Now back in the Valley and writing for the Mesa Independent and the Daily Independent, Connor is ready to tell meaningful stories and report on important civic issues facing Mesa. Connor is a big fan of the 49ers, Warriors, pro wrestling, anime, dogs and fighting video games.