How Much of Arizona Lives Near Phoenix? 74.1%, According to the ZIP-Code Data

By SimpleMapLab·Published 13 May 2026·Rank #19 of 50 states·↑ All 50 states

74.1% of Arizona’s population — about 5.52 M of 7.45 M residents — lives within 100 miles of Phoenix. The other 25.9% — including Tucson — sits beyond the circle.

A 100-mile geodesic radius around the Phoenix, AZ state capitol overlaid on Arizona. 74.1% of Arizona's population lives inside the dashed ring.

74.1%

of Arizona’s population within 100 miles of Phoenix

5.52 M

residents inside the radius (of 7.45 M statewide)

12 mi

from Phoenix to Arizona’s population centroid

#19

of 50 states ranked by capital-to-population centrality

Open this radius in the map → /tools/map-radius-tool · Phoenix, AZ · 100 mi
The link opens the SimpleMapLab Map Radius Tool with the 100-mile circle already drawn around the Phoenix capitol. Change the radius to 50, 250, or any value to compare different framings.

Why this happened

Arizona's capital is centrally located but not perfectly placed. Phoenix's 100-mile circle captures roughly two-thirds to four-fifths of the state's residents — including Phoenix (the largest city inside, ~1.47 million). The notable exception: Tucson, sitting 106 miles from the capital. The capital itself sits 12 miles from Arizona's population centroid — a moderate but not extreme offset.

The biggest cities inside the 100-mile radius

The top 5 most-populous places (by aggregated ZIP code population) sitting inside the 100-mile circle around Phoenix. Cities are listed by total population captured by ZIP centroids in the dataset.

#	City	Population in radius
1	Phoenix	1,468,863
2	Mesa	555,266
3	Glendale	314,550
4	Chandler	299,016
5	Scottsdale	294,350

The largest city outside the radius

Arizona’s most-populous city outside the 100-mile circle is Tucson, sitting 106 miles from Phoenix. The aggregated population of Tucson’s ZIP codes alone — 732,405 residents — illustrates the gap between Arizona’s political seat and its population centre.

How Arizona compares

The states ranked closest to Arizona on this metric. Click any to compare the radius breakdown directly.

#18 Oregon

Salem · 77.5% pop. captured

#20 South Carolina

Columbia · 73.7% pop. captured

#17 Georgia

Atlanta · 77.8% pop. captured

#21 Washington

Olympia · 73.5% pop. captured

#16 Hawaii

Honolulu · 77.9% pop. captured

Draw it yourself

Open the 100-mile circle around Phoenix →

The Map Radius Tool lets you change the radius (try 50 mi for an urban-suburban question or 250 mi for “a day’s drive”), drag the centre to compare Phoenix’s reach with that of Phoenix, or add a second circle for a side-by-side comparison.

Methodology (brief)

We took the lat/lng of the Arizona state capitol building (33.4484°, -112.0740°) and drew a 100-mile geodesic radius. For every ZIP code in Arizona, we tested whether the ZIP centroid falls inside; if so, its population counts. We then divide by Arizona’s total population to produce the percentage. The full methodology for all 50 states is on the hub page.

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). 100 Miles Around Phoenix: How Much of Arizona Is Inside? Part of the State Capital Radius study. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/studies/state-capital-radius/arizona. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.