Marana, a tiny farming community about 30 miles northwest of Tucson, grew by nearly 520% during the decade, and Oro Valley, 20 miles north of Tucson, grew by 345% and now has nearly 30,000 residents. The explosive growth in those areas was fueled by massive master-planned communities, which swallowed up cheap land. These two cities were the fastest growing the state.

In the Valley, Surprise (333%), Gilbert (277%), Goodyear (202%), Avondale (122%) and Peoria (114%) were the fastest growing cities. Once nothing but farmland and a scattered collection of homes, Gilbert is now a thriving suburb with nearly 110,000 residents and Peoria, once on the fringe of city, now has more than 108,000 residents.

The 1990s represent a clear picture of the Valley's growth patterns, which are expected to continue for the next decade. The cities that make up the established core of the Valley--Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Paradise Valley and Scottsdale--have relinquished their growth title to outlying cities. That shift in growth means more state sales-tax money and political clout will be flowing to outlying areas.

Attracted by cheaper land, and sometimes easier zoning issues, commercial and residential developers have flocked to the fringes bringing with them jobs and rooftops. Although the southeast Valley didn't grow nearly as quickly as it had in the 1980s, it still captured much of the decade's growth, albeit in cities further outside the core. Chandler, which 10 years ago had more farmland than homes, now has surpassed Tempe in size. The city, just south of Tempe, is now the sixth largest in the state, thanks to 95% growth during the '90s. By comparison, land-locked Tempe grew by just 12% during the same period. Other fast-growing southeast cities include: Apache Junction, which lies east of Mesa, grew by 76%, and Queen Creek, which is south of Gilbert and Chandler, grew by 62%. Overall, the southeast Valley grew by 53.6%, and now has 894,000 residents.

Long overlooked for residential and commercial development, the West Valley emerged during the 1990s as a place to build. Residents were attracted to the area because it was less congested, they could get more house for their dollar, and the expanding freeways system made it easier to commute to other parts of the Valley. Four of the five fastest-growing cities in the Valley were in the West Valley: Surprise (333%), Goodyear (202%), Avondale (122%) and Peoria (114%). As a region, the West Valley experienced 65.2% growth during the decade, and now has 510,000 residents.

The northeast Valley also had faster growth than the East Valley, growing by 55.6% during the '90s. The region now has 243,000 residents. The fastest-growing cities were: Fountain Hills, which is just east of Scottsdale, grew by 102%; Carefree, north of Scottsdale, grew by 76%; and Scottsdale itself grew by 55.8%.

The fastest-growing city outside of the Tucson and Phoenix areas was Prescott Valley, which is just outside Prescott and about 100 miles north of Phoenix. That city grew by 164% and now has 23,500 residents.

Instant Insights /

Decade's Greatest Growth Was in Outlying Areas

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