Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix ( FEE-niks; Navajo: Hoozdo; Spanish: Fenix or Finix, Walapai: Banya:nyuwa) is the capital and most populous city in the American state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and one of only two state capitals with a population of more than one million residents, along with Austin.

Phoenix is the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan region, also known as the Valley of the Sun. It is also part of the Salt River Valley. The metropolitan area is the 11th largest by population in the United States, with approximately 4.85 million people as of 2020. Phoenix, the seat of Maricopa County, is the largest city in the state at 517.9 square miles (1,341 km), and one of the largest cities in the United States. It is the largest metropolitan area, both by population and size, of the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion.

Maricopa County lies in the southern-central part of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the county’s population was 4,420,568, making it the state’s most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 62% of Arizona’s population, making Arizona one of the most centralized states in the nation. Phoenix is the county seat and the fifth-most populous US city.