Who Are the People of Arizona?

The U.S. Census Bureau has released their data estimates on population statistics for the period ending July 1, 2005. The actual census only takes place every ten years, in dates ending in a zero, the the next full census will take place in 2010. Because we continue to experience great population growth in Arizona, it's good to stop midway between census periods to see how we are doing.

Race Statistics for Arizona

White: 4,440,804
Growth since 2000 census: 14.6%

Black/African American: 180,769
Growth since 2000 census: 13.8%

American Indian/Alaska Native: 275,321
Growth since 2000 census: 7.6%

Asian: 129,197
Growth since 2000 census: 40%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 7,229
Growth since 2000 census: 7,4%

Other: 658,244
Growth since 2000 census: 10.3%

Two or More Races: 138,275
Growth since 2000 census: 5.6%

Hispanic/Latino: 1,668,524
Growth since 2000 census: 28.8%

Race Statistics for Maricopa County

White: 2,812,857
Growth since 2000 census: 18.4%

Black or African American: 138,052
Growth since 2000 census: 20.5%

American Indian/Alaska Native: 66,930
Growth since 2000 census: 18%

Asian: 96,828
Growth since 2000 census: 45.8%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 3,842
Growth since 2000 census: -12.8%

Other: 390,229
Growth since 2000 census: 7.1%

Two or More Races: 82,066
Growth since 2000 census: -8.2%

Hispanic/Latino: 1,047,360
Growth since 2000 census: 37.2%

Hispanics/Latinos: 28.6% of the population of Arizona is Hispanic/Latino.
At the 2000 census: 25.3%

The Largest Cities in Arizona

There are 9 cities in Arizona with a population over 100,000. They are, in order with largest first: Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria.

White population
Scottsdale leads the nine cities with 91% white population. Gilbert is second with 85%. The lowest white population is in Tucson with 65%, followed by Phoenix with 74%.

African American population
Approximately 5% of the populations of Phoenix, Chandler and Peoria are African Americans. Scottsdale and Mesa have the smallest percentage at around 2%.

American Indian population
Tucson has 3% of its population considering themselves American Indian and leads the largest cities in that category. The smallest populations of American Indians are noted in Gilbert and Peoria, both with less than 1%.

Asian population
Chandler has the highest percentage of Asian population of the cities with more than 100,000 people with 7%. Gilbert and Tempe both have about 5% Asian people. On the low side, Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa and Glendale all have around 2% Asian population.

Hispanic/Latino
The highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino population is in Phoenix at about 42% followed closely by Tucson at 41%. This is a switch from the 2000 census where Tucson topped the list. Scottsdale (8%) and Gilbert (12%) have the lowest percentage of Hispanic/Latino people living there.

_{All data was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.}