By Howard Fischer | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Arizona’s largest cities show stagnant or declining population growth
- Phoenix adds just 3,157 new residents, a 0.2% growth rate
- Slower-growing cities may adopt “middle housing” to attract new residents
The state’s most populated cities are in no danger of losing their status — at least not immediately.
New figures from the Census Bureau show that population trends in the state’s largest cities have largely stalled or began to decline.
Last year’s census placed 1.66 million residents in Phoenix. This year, that same census added just 3,157 new residents to the city over the last 12 months, an anemic 0.2% growth.
Tucson fared even worse, with its 548,371 head count actually 2,262 less than the year before. In fact, since the decennial census in 2020, the state’s second largest city has added only 5,773 residents.
