State bird
Cactus wren
Sources: Designation & background
Local timePhoenix ·
U.S. States / West · Card 003
Arizona
The Grand Canyon State
The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon, exposing layers of rock as erosion cuts into the landscape.
Arizona and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights Arizona.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Phoenix
- Postal abbreviation
- AZ
- Population
- 7,623,818July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 295,234 km²113,990 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- February 14, 1912State number 48
- Region
- West
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
State anthem
Arizona March Song
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah.
02
Landscape & places
The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon, exposing layers of rock as erosion cuts into the landscape. The canyon lies within the ancestral homelands of multiple present-day tribal communities. Its geological history and human history are both part of the place.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 294,207 km² of land and 1,026 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
Red and yellow rays above a blue lower half, with a copper-colored star in the center.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · Grand Canyon
How the landscape works
The Grand Canyon separates two kinds of geological time. The exposed rock layers formed before the canyon that now cuts through them. Erosion reveals that older record rather than creating every layer at the moment it is exposed. A river also transports the material it removes, so the canyon belongs to a larger drainage system. Understanding the canyon requires both its rocks and the processes acting on them.
History
Why Arizona changed its constitution to gain statehood
Arizona’s proposed constitution allowed voters to remove elected judges through recall elections. President William Howard Taft objected because he believed judicial recall threatened the independence of the courts. The disagreement became an obstacle to Arizona’s admission to the Union.
Arizona voters removed the judicial-recall provision to meet the condition for statehood. Arizona became a state on February 14, 1912. Later that year, voters restored the provision. This sequence explains why statehood involved a dispute over the rules of government, not simply reaching a particular population.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
Arizona’s proposed constitution allowed voters to recall judges, meaning remove them through an election before their terms ended. President William Howard Taft objected to that provision. Arizona removed it to secure admission, then restored judicial recall after becoming a state. The dispute shows that the terms of admission and later state constitutional choices could be different stages of the process.
Key dates
-
Gadsden Purchase treaty signed
-
Arizona Territory formed
-
Statehood · State number 48
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The Hopi Tribe’s own information about its government, villages, and culture connects Arizona with living communities. The Grand Canyon’s human history also involves multiple tribes, rather than one generic Indigenous identity.
Continue with Hopi Tribe. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
Arizona and California
| Measure | Arizona | California |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 7,623,818 | 39,355,309 |
| Land area (km²) | 294,207 | 403,466 |
| People per km² of land | 25.9 | 97.5 |
California has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore California.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, real estate and rental and leasing was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included professional and business services, government and government enterprises, and educational services, health care, and social assistance.
Total economic output was $598.2 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 17.5%
- Professional and business services: 11.5%
- Government and government enterprises: 9.9%
- Educational services, health care, and social assistance: 9.6%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Millions of people7.622025 · millions of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 7,186,647 |
| 2021 | 7,274,022 |
| 2022 | 7,370,065 |
| 2023 | 7,452,073 |
| 2024 | 7,556,424 |
| 2025 | 7,623,818 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars455.752025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 282,252.5 |
| 2011 | 290,411.3 |
| 2012 | 297,077.3 |
| 2013 | 298,859.9 |
| 2014 | 301,721.2 |
| 2015 | 308,582.8 |
| 2016 | 319,008.4 |
| 2017 | 333,099.0 |
| 2018 | 346,398.3 |
| 2019 | 359,576.7 |
| 2020 | 366,588.0 |
| 2021 | 396,457.5 |
| 2022 | 413,798.8 |
| 2023 | 427,644.0 |
| 2024 | 446,968.2 |
| 2025 | 455,745.2 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
Arizona’s population increased by about 6.1% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 112024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 92020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about Arizona
Show a hint
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.