Economy of Phoenix

The early economy of Phoenix was focused primarily on agriculture and natural resources, dependent mainly on the "5Cs", which were copper, cattle, climate, cotton, and citrus.

[1] Once the Salt River Project was completed, the city, and the valley in general, began to develop more rapidly, due to a now fairly reliable source of water.

World War I would greatly change the agricultural landscape of the valley, and teach the farmers of the region an invaluable, if difficult lesson.

Led by Goodyear, tire and airplane manufacturers began to buy more and more cotton from valley growers.

In fact, the town of Goodyear was founded during this period when the company purchased desert acreage southwest of Phoenix to grow cotton.

By the end of the Roaring Twenties, Phoenix boasted the largest meat processing plant between Dallas and Los Angeles.

[7] With the establishment of a main rail line (the Southern Pacific) in 1926, the opening of the Union Station in 1923, and the creation of Sky Harbor airport by the end of the decade, the city became more easily accessible.

After the war, the city's population began to surge, as many men who had undergone their military training at the various bases in and around Phoenix returned with their families.

[17] According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce, in 2018, Maricopa County had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of just over $220.8 billion, a 4.5% increase over the prior year.

[11] Manufacturing ranks third among Phoenix's industries, and includes the production of computers and other electronic equipment, missiles, aircraft parts, chemicals, and processed foods.

The military has a significant presence in Phoenix, with Luke Air Force Base located in the western suburbs.

Just three years later, it ended its free fall in job growth by hitting the bottom of the list of those 28 major markets, dead last.

Arizona's year-over-year job growth (of which Phoenix is the main driver) continued to outpace the nation through August 2013.

[24] As of December 2013, 12.9% of the workforce were government employees, a high number because the city is both the county seat and state capitol.