Before You Move to Phoenix: What the Census Data Says
Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the United States and one of the fastest-growing. In 1990 it had 983,403 residents. By 2024 the Census counted 1,642,323, and the latest population estimate puts it above 1.66 million. That is more than 650,000 people added in a single generation, the kind of growth that reshapes a city's economy, housing market, and daily rhythm. If you are thinking about moving there, here is what the numbers say.
Incomes have climbed fast
Phoenix has gotten meaningfully richer. Median household income rose from $41,207 in 2000 to $81,332 in 2024. Even after adjusting for inflation, that is real growth, not just bigger numbers chasing higher prices. The city pulled in remote workers, finance and insurance back offices, and a growing technology and semiconductor presence anchored by major chip-fabrication investment on the north side.
The wider Maricopa County economy is even stronger, with a median household income of $89,300 across a population that just crossed 4.6 million. Maricopa is now one of the largest and fastest-growing counties in the country, and the spread between the city and the suburbs tells you where the higher earners are landing.
The housing market is the real story
Housing is where a Phoenix move gets complicated, because the market has been a roller coaster. The median home value in the city was $107,000 in 2000. It shot up to $224,100 by 2009, then collapsed during the foreclosure crisis to a low of $155,900 in 2014. Phoenix was one of the hardest-hit housing markets in the country during that bust. Then it came roaring back: $250,800 in 2020, $340,200 in 2022, and $420,700 by 2024.
That is a near quadrupling from the 2014 trough in a decade. For a buyer, it means you are entering a market that has already run very hard and is far less affordable than it was even five years ago. For context, $420,700 is still below the figures in coastal California or the Northeast, which is exactly why so many people keep arriving. But the era of Phoenix as a cheap place to buy a house is over.
Poverty is falling
One genuinely encouraging trend: poverty in Phoenix has dropped sharply. The poverty rate peaked at 23.2 percent in 2014, in the aftermath of the housing crash, and has fallen almost every year since to 13.7 percent in 2024. That is a major improvement and tracks the income gains. A city where poverty is falling and median income is rising is a city where the economic base is broadening, not just adding wealthy newcomers on top of a struggling core.
The thing the data does not soften: the heat
No income figure changes the fact that Phoenix is one of the hottest cities in America. Summer highs routinely exceed 110 degrees, and the number of extreme-heat days has been climbing. Air conditioning is not optional, water policy is a long-term question for the entire region, and outdoor life shuts down for much of June through September. The Census data cannot capture what that feels like, but it does explain part of the migration: a lot of the growth comes from people relocating from even more expensive places who have decided the tradeoff is worth it.
The other structural feature worth knowing is sprawl. Phoenix covers a vast footprint at a population density of around 3,170 people per square mile, low for a city its size. That means long drives, car dependence, and neighborhoods that can feel very different from one another. Where you land inside the city matters as much as the decision to move there at all.
How to do your own homework
Before committing, look up the specific neighborhood, not just the city. A citywide median hides enormous variation between north Phoenix, the urban core, and the south side. Pull the census tract for the area you are considering and check its income, poverty, and home value against the city as a whole. Our guide on how to use Census data to choose a neighborhood walks through exactly which numbers to weigh.
It also helps to compare Phoenix directly against wherever you are leaving. The Compare tool puts two cities side by side on income, home value, rent, and more. And if you want to see how Phoenix stacks up against the rest of the country's boomtowns, it appears in our roundup of the fastest-growing cities in America.
Sources
Figures in this article come from the following public datasets, accessed through CensusEasy:
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates: census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
- US Census Bureau, Decennial Census (1990 and 2000 summary files): census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html
- CensusEasy methodology and inflation adjustments: censuseasy.com/methodology
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Is Phoenix a good place to move to?
Phoenix has strong income growth, falling poverty, and home prices still below coastal markets, which is why it keeps adding residents. The main tradeoffs are intense summer heat, car-dependent sprawl, and a housing market that has risen sharply since 2014.
How much does a house cost in Phoenix?
The median home value in Phoenix reached about $420,700 in 2024, up from a post-crash low of $155,900 in 2014. Prices have nearly quadrupled in a decade, so Phoenix is far less affordable than it was a few years ago, though still cheaper than California or the Northeast.
What is the median income in Phoenix?
The median household income in Phoenix was about $81,332 in 2024, up from $41,207 in 2000. The surrounding Maricopa County is higher at roughly $89,300, reflecting wealthier suburban households.