Arizona at a Glance

Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the country, populated by a vibrant workforce attracted to quality jobs and quality of life. The 2010 census reported the state's population is 6.4 million people with a median age of 35.9 years old.

Key Data

County and State Population and Demographics

Low Cost of Doing Business

Arizona offers one of our nation's lowest costs of doing business, due to its low taxes and small state government. Arizona's overall state and local tax burden ranks ninth in the country, with 8.5 percent of per-capita income going to taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. The national average is 9.7 percent. Arizona's taxes on property, gas and personal income all remain low compared to the rest of the country. Arizona also has a small state government compared to its population. Arizona's low tax burden has led to the following rankings:

  • Second lowest in the nation in unemployment insurance tax (Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, 2010)
  • Third lowest in the nation in state and local government employees per 100 residents (Beacon Hill Institute, 2008)
  • Sixth lowest in the nation in property taxes (Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, 2010)
  • Seventh lowest in the nation in average workers' compensation costs (American Legislative Exchange Council, 2010)
  • Eighth in the nation in government and fiscal policy (Beacon Hill Institute, 2008)

Educated Work Force

Arizona has access to one of the largest concentrations of science and technology students and graduates in the country through its large public universities – Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. In addition to attracting large numbers of college students, these institutions have large science and technology research programs and have contributed to the high number of engineers living in the state. Arizona has been recognized for its educated workers, as shown by the following rankings:

  • Second in overall work force (CNBC, 2010)
  • Fourth in bachelor's degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18 – 24 years old (NSF, 2007)
  • Eighth in science and engineer doctorates conferred per 1,000 employed science and engineer doctorate holders (NSF, 2006)

Productive R&D Activity

The state's universities and its research-intensive companies drive Arizona's research and development activities, and make it one of the nation's top patenting states. Intel, IBM, Honeywell International and Freescale Semiconductors lead the state's patenting activity. Arizona is a leader in semiconductor device manufacturing, solid-state devices, computer memory, electrical systems and optics. Arizona excels in the ability of its small firms to attract federal funding for commercialization and the state's universities' ability to attract federal R&D funding.

The state excels in a number of metrics of research activity and funding, including:

  • Seventh in patents awarded per 1,000 individuals in S&E occupations (NSF, 2010)
  • Ninth in academic S&E article output per 1,000 S&E doctorate holders in academia (NSF, 2010)
  • Ninth in federal R&D obligations per $1,000 GSP (OTP, 2004)
  • 11th in federal R&D obligations per civilian worker (NSF)
  • 11th in patents (ITIF-Kauffman, 2010)

Strong High-Tech Economy

Many recent studies have hailed Arizona's potential for growth over the next few years due to the state's continued strong economic performance and its vibrant technology community. Arizona is expected to increase its venture capital investments, business openings and jobs over the next few years. The Milken Institute placed Arizona in the top ten of technology-focused state economies. Other studies (listed below) have ranked the state as a strong performer in high-tech business formations and business IPOs. In addition, the University of Arizona's undergraduate entrepreneurship program has been ranked fourth in the country, and its graduate program ranked 13th.

Overall economic indices and high-tech metrics in which Arizona has been ranked highly include:

  • Second in economic outlook (ALEC-Laffer, 2010)
  • Second in entrepreneurial activity (ITIF, 2010)
  • Seventh in growth prospects (Forbes, 2010)
  • Seventh in IPOs (Beacon Hill Institute, 2008)
  • Eighth in economic performance (ALEC-Laffer, 2010)
  • 10th in risk-capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure (Milken Institute, 2008)
  • 10th in technology concentration and dynamism (Milken Institute, 2010)