Phoenix is the capital and largest city by population in Arizona with 1,608,139 residents,[4] is ranked as the fifth most populous city in the United States, and land area spanning 517.5 sq mi (1,340 km2) as of the 2020 census. The smallest municipality by population and land area is Winkelman with 296 residents in 0.75 sq mi (1.9 km2).[5] The oldest incorporated place in Arizona is Tucson which incorporated in 1877 and the most recent was the town of Tusayan which incorporated in March 2010.[6]
Municipal incorporation
The Arizona Constitution has, since its ratification in 1912, allowed for the creation of municipal corporations in any community with a population of 3,500 or greater.[7] According to the Constitution, a municipal charter cannot be created by special laws or by the legislature, but rather by the communities themselves as provided by general law.[8] The population limit specified by the constitution was lowered by state law to a minimum of population of 1,500 for most locations, and further reduced to 500 for communities located within 10 miles (16 km) of a national park or national monument.[9] State law further restricts the incorporation of new municipalities within urbanized areas, which are defined as a specific buffer zone surrounding existing cities and towns.[10]
State law allows for the incorporation of a community as either a city or a town; the only additional requirement to incorporate as a city is a minimum population of 3,000.[11] Cities and towns in Arizona function largely in an identical manner, but cities are provided with additional powers that a town charter does not provide, limited primarily to certain powers regarding the regulation of utilities and construction within the city limits.[12] State law allows adjoining towns to merge and it allows a city to annex a town, but it does not allow cities to merge.[13][14] Additionally, a town may change its form of government to a city upon reaching the minimum population of 3,000.[15] There are, however, large communities that have remained incorporated as a town in spite of attaining a large population; Gilbert, with 267,918 residents, remains incorporated as a town.
Twenty Arizona municipalities were incorporated before 1912, when the state was admitted to the Union. As such, these cities and towns were incorporated by means other than those stipulated by current state law and the constitution. Phoenix, for example, was incorporated in 1881 by an act of the Territorial Legislature.[16]
List of cities and towns
Largest cities and towns in Arizona by population
Phoenix, Arizona's state capital and most populous municipality
Tucson, Arizona's second largest city by population
Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's third largest city by population
Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's fourth largest city by population
Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's largest town and fifth largest municipality by population
Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's sixth largest city by population
Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's seventh largest city by population
Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's eighth largest city by population
Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's ninth largest city by population
Surprise, a suburb of Phoenix and Arizona's tenth largest city by population
^Because Tusayan was incorporated in 2010, its population was not included in the 2010 Census. The 2010 Census count for the now defunct Tusayan CDP was 558.
^Because the Tusayan was incorporated after the 2010 Census, its area is not reported by the Census Bureau. The 2010 area of the Census-designated place corresponding to Tusayan was 8.91 sq mi (23.1 km2). At its incorporation, Tusayan included an area of only 0.2 sq mi (0.52 km2), much smaller than its CDP counterpart.
