The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Maricopa County is a county of Arizona with 4,559,748 residents. Its economy produced $419,250 million in 2024 (ranked #1 of 15 counties) and had 2,280,645 jobs with an average annual pay of $73,840 (#2 for pay). The unemployment rate was 4.1% in 2026M09. It is part of the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metropolitan area (central county).
Maricopa County produced about $419,250 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 73.5% of the combined output of the 15 counties of Arizona that BEA reports (about 61.8% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 1st of 15 on that measure. Per resident that is $91,946, 19% above the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $77,260. In current dollars output grew 7.7% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 2,280,645 jobs located in Maricopa County on average in 2024, spread over 142,693 employer sites (about 16 jobs per site). That is 0.50 jobs for every resident, above the 0.29 of the typical county in Arizona, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $73,840, 6% above the average of all counties in the state ($73,840 against $69,601). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 2.1% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (16.3% of private jobs, $69,242 a year on average), retail trade (11.5% of private jobs, $49,682 a year on average), accommodation and food services (10.2% of private jobs, $32,478 a year on average). Together they hold 38.0% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $108,429 a year, followed by wholesale trade ($108,273). The county is specialised in several industries: finance and insurance (1.5 times the US share, 141,344 jobs); construction (1.5 times the US share, 174,553 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($49,682), accommodation and food services ($32,478). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Maricopa County was 4.1%, 13% below the average of the state's counties (4.1% against 4.7%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 2,438,322. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.5% (2025M12) to 4.8% (2026M06); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $89,300 (ACS 2020–2024), 12% above the state median ($89,300 against $79,964). The guide covers 24 cities with this as the main county: Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria, Tempe. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $991 in Wickenburg to $3,501 in Paradise Valley, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Maricopa County in output are Pima County, Pinal County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 15 counties of Arizona ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 4,559,748 | 1 of 15 |
| GDP 2024 | $419,250 million | 1 of 15 |
| GDP per resident | $91,946 | 2 of 15 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 2,280,645 | 1 of 15 |
| Average annual pay | $73,840 | 2 of 15 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +2.1% | 8 of 15 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 4.1% | 2 of 15 |
| Median household income | $89,300 | 1 of 15 |
Federal jobs in Arizona (983) →All cities of ArizonaState guide: Arizona
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Maricopa County (and 1 more that extend into it).
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 1,642,323 | $81,332 | $1,582 | $420,700 | 33.6% |
| Mesa | 511,764 | $82,752 | $1,620 | $408,000 | 32.5% |
| Gilbert | 280,262 | $122,551 | $2,110 | $575,100 | 48.2% |
| Chandler | 280,136 | $108,095 | $1,902 | $507,800 | 47.8% |
| Glendale | 252,833 | $73,530 | $1,528 | $387,500 | 24.3% |
| Scottsdale | 243,821 | $110,886 | $2,013 | $789,800 | 61.9% |
| Peoria | 196,906 | $95,815 | $1,843 | $463,600 | 36.3% |
| Tempe | 188,065 | $79,663 | $1,743 | $455,400 | 50.0% |
| Surprise | 154,948 | $96,711 | $2,033 | $435,100 | 30.5% |
| Goodyear | 107,645 | $103,319 | $1,956 | $471,300 | 35.5% |
| Buckeye | 104,923 | $99,486 | $1,963 | $419,800 | 24.9% |
| Avondale | 92,477 | $86,123 | $1,832 | $394,600 | 21.3% |
| Queen Creek | 71,867 | $141,978 | $2,210 | $635,400 | 45.0% |
| Sun City | 37,486 | $54,586 | $1,569 | $280,900 | 26.0% |
| El Mirage | 36,088 | $78,050 | $1,806 | $321,900 | 15.8% |
| Sun City West | 27,425 | $63,685 | $1,672 | $377,800 | 34.7% |
| Fountain Hills | 23,789 | $112,654 | $1,890 | $622,900 | 50.4% |
| Anthem | 22,584 | $120,613 | $2,548 | $569,900 | 50.8% |
| New River | 18,240 | $134,289 | $1,948 | $640,600 | 31.5% |
| Sun Lakes | 13,924 | $67,853 | $1,938 | $455,200 | 39.4% |
| Paradise Valley | 12,611 | $247,159 | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | 74.3% |
| Wickenburg | 8,059 | $67,600 | $991 | $470,300 | 34.1% |
| Tolleson | 7,668 | $59,626 | $1,309 | $306,400 | 12.1% |
| Youngtown | 7,015 | $68,321 | $1,157 | $320,000 | 14.4% |
| Apache Junction | 41,058 | $60,975 | $1,146 | $211,500 | 18.1% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 335,894 | 16.3% | $69,242 | 1.03 |
| Retail trade | 236,403 | 11.5% | $49,682 | 1.04 |
| Accommodation and food services | 210,601 | 10.2% | $32,478 | 1.02 |
| Administrative and waste services | 185,155 | 9.0% | $56,121 | 1.38 |
| Construction | 174,553 | 8.5% | $84,124 | 1.46 |
| Finance and insurance | 141,344 | 6.9% | $106,212 | 1.53 |
| Manufacturing | 141,236 | 6.8% | $100,546 | 0.75 |
| Professional and technical services | 133,249 | 6.5% | $108,429 | 0.84 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 111,653 | 5.4% | $63,769 | 1.16 |
| Wholesale trade | 92,738 | 4.5% | $108,273 | 1.03 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 62,524 | 3.0% | $54,215 | 0.91 |
| Educational services | 57,657 | 2.8% | $53,902 | 1.22 |
| Real estate and rental | 46,785 | 2.3% | $79,540 | 1.32 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 43,206 | 2.1% | $60,165 | 1.13 |
| Management of companies | 36,216 | 1.8% | $130,100 | 0.94 |
| Information | 36,082 | 1.7% | $131,865 | 0.84 |
| Utilities | 8,690 | 0.4% | $138,945 | 1.00 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 5,871 | 0.3% | $52,780 | 0.32 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 2,336 | 0.1% | $143,579 | 0.27 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 2,438,322 |
| Employed residents | 2,338,249 |
| Unemployed residents | 100,073 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 2,280,645 |
| Employer sites | 142,693 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa County | 4,559,748 | $419,250 million | $91,946 | 2,280,645 | $73,840 | 4.1% |
| Pima County | 1,060,490 | $66,712 million | $62,907 | 386,312 | $61,936 | 4.8% |
| Pinal County | 469,006 | $16,272 million | $34,694 | 77,687 | $58,158 | 4.8% |
| Yavapai County | 245,480 | $12,137 million | $49,443 | 71,540 | $54,666 | 4.7% |
| Mohave County | 220,517 | $9,482 million | $42,997 | 56,391 | $51,199 | 5.9% |
| Yuma County | 211,741 | $11,353 million | $53,620 | 71,978 | $53,873 | 14.5% |
| Coconino County | 144,508 | $10,662 million | $73,783 | 65,975 | $54,494 | 5.0% |
| Cochise County | 125,566 | $6,576 million | $52,373 | 34,954 | $59,877 | 5.8% |
| Navajo County | 108,415 | $4,065 million | $37,498 | 28,615 | $50,447 | 6.6% |
| Apache County | 65,341 | $2,948 million | $45,111 | 16,611 | $56,805 | 7.8% |
| Gila County | 53,795 | $2,397 million | $44,562 | 15,973 | $56,684 | 4.4% |
| Santa Cruz County | 48,926 | $2,844 million | $58,128 | 13,675 | $59,656 | 7.7% |
| Graham County | 39,232 | $2,015 million | $51,367 | 10,751 | $57,182 | 4.3% |
| La Paz County | 16,664 | $849 million | $50,919 | 6,359 | $51,608 | 6.0% |
| Greenlee County | 9,409 | $2,526 million | $268,483 | 5,832 | $88,182 | 3.1% |
4,559,748 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$419,250 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
4.1% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
2,280,645 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $73,840 (BLS QCEW).