Arizona Sun Corridor

This article is about the Arizona megaregion. For the similarly named metropolitan area, see Valley of the Sun.
Arizona Sun Corridor
Megaregion of the U.S.
Phoenix
Tucson
Mesa
Counter-clockwise from top: downtown Phoenix skyline, downtown Tucson, Mesa City Hall
Arizona Sun Corridor is located in Arizona
Phoenix
Phoenix
Tucson
Tucson
Sierra Vista
Sierra Vista
Casa Grande
Casa Grande
Nogales
Nogales
Prescott
Prescott
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Selected cities of the Arizona Sun Corridor
Map
Coordinates: 33°N 112°W / 33°N 112°W / 33; -112
CountryUS
StateArizona
Population
 (2010)
 • Total
5,517,131
 • Rank10th
 • 2040 Projection
10,100,000
 [1]

The Arizona Sun Corridor, shortened Sun Corridor, is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of Arizona - comprising approximately 85 percent of the state's population. The Sun Corridor is comparable to Indiana in both size and population. It is one of the fastest growing conurbations in the country and is speculated to double its population by 2040.[2] The largest metropolitan areas are the Phoenix metropolitan area – Valley of the Sun, and the Tucson metropolitan area – The Old Pueblo. The regions' populace is nestled in the valley of a desert environment.[2] Similar to Southern California, the urban area extends into Mexico, reaching the communities of Heroica Nogales and Agua Prieta.[2]

Its population is composed of five metropolitan areas: Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, Sierra Vista-Douglas[3] and Nogales. Of these, two are metropolitan areas with over 1,000,000 residents: the Phoenix metropolitan area with 4.85 million residents and the Tucson metropolitan area with over 1 million residents. The Arizona Sun Corridor is made up of all of Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties, along with parts of Yavapai, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.[4] It is home to over 86 percent of Arizona's population.

Most of the Arizona Sun Corridor is in the Sonoran Desert. To the south of the region is the border between the United States and Mexico, and to the north and east is the Arizona transition zone and the Mountains of Arizona. The Southern California Megaregion is to the west and is the nearest other Megaregion to the Arizona Sun Corridor.

  1. ^ Patton, Willian; Vest, Marshall. "Sun Corridor Projections Final Report: Economic and Demographic Forecasts to 2040" (PDF). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Arizona Sun Corridor". America 2050. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Arizona Has a New Metropolitan Area: Sierra Vista-Douglas 1-14-14.
  4. ^ "Maps – America2050". America 2050. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2011.