Phoenix metro population reaches 5 million

By Greg Hahne
Associated Press
Published: Thursday, May 18, 2023 - 2:32pm
Updated: Thursday, May 18, 2023 - 2:34pm

The Westward Ho as seen from 5th Street in downtown Phoenix
Kathy Ritchie/KJZZ
The Westward Ho as seen from 5th Street in downtown Phoenix

The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area population surpassed 5 million people for the first time between July 2021 and July 2022.

Metropolitan areas grew by half a percent last year, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Many areas saw a slowing or reversal of the pandemic trend that resulted in people moving away from population centers.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area saw the most growth with 170,000 new residents in that timeframe.

Metro Phoenix, on the other hand, trailed the Houston and Atlanta areas as well and picked up nearly 73,000 people.

The city of Phoenix itself had the second largest growth of any city, right behind Fort Worth.

15 cities with the largest numeric increases (July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022)

Area name State Numeric increase 2022 total population
Fort Worth city Texas 19,170 956,709
Phoenix city Arizona 19,053 1,644,409
San Antonio city Texas 18,889 1,472,909
Seattle city Washington 17,749 749,256
Charlotte city North Carolina 15,217 897,720
Jacksonville city Florida 14,408 971,319
Port St. Lucie city Florida 13,887 231,790
Cape Coral city Florida 13,017 216,992
Houston city Texas 11,223 2,302,878
Georgetown city Texas 10,887 86,507
North Las Vegas city Nevada 9,419 280,543
Henderson city Nevada 8,994 331,415
Dallas city Texas 8,833 1,299,544
Irvine city California 8,589 313,685
Frisco city Texas 8,506 219,587
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Vintage 2022 Population Estimates, release date: May 2023.