Most Densely Populated Cities in Arizona: Ranked by People per Square Mile

The densest city in Arizona in our data is Guadalupe, AZ, with about 8,247 people per square mile, followed by South Tucson, AZ (5,563) and Tempe, AZ (4,898). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 99 Arizona communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in Arizona?

How dense are the cities in Arizona?

The densest place is about 9 times as dense as the median place in the state, which has about 951 people per square mile. At the other end, Paulden, AZ has about 91. Under our scale, 2 places are an urban core (over 5,000 per square mile), 42 are suburban, and the rest are small towns or rural. Maricopa County contributes 22 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 10 counties of Arizona. Maricopa County has 22 (Guadalupe, Tempe, Youngtown, Glendale, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, El Mirage, Phoenix, Anthem); Pima County has 10 (South Tucson, Flowing Wells, Casas Adobes, Tucson, Drexel Heights, Corona de Tucson, Oro V); Pinal County has 4 (San Tan Valley, Arizona City, Maricopa, Apache Junction). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Arizona compare with the rest of the country?

The median Arizona place with a page has about 15,813 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is larger than the national typical place. The state has 427 communities in total, of which 99 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Arizona cities

• Which is the densest city in Arizona? Guadalupe (8,247 per square mile).
• How many Arizona cities have more than 100,000 people? 13 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 27.
• What is the typical size? About 15,813 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.