# Arizona statistical areas

The U.S. State of Arizona currently has 13 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated two combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and four micropolitan statistical areas in Arizona. As of 2023, the most populous of these is the Phoenix-Mesa, AZ Combined Statistical Area, encompassing the area around Arizona's capital and largest city, Phoenix.

## Background

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.

## Table

The 13 United States statistical areas and 15 counties of the State of Arizona :
| Combined statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | Core-based statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | County | 2023 population (est.) |
| Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA | 5,124,113 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA | 5,070,110 | Maricopa County, Arizona | 4,585,871 |
| Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA | 5,124,113 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA | 5,070,110 | Pinal County, Arizona | 484,239 |
| Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA | 5,124,113 | Payson, AZ μSA | 54,003 | Gila County, Arizona | 54,003 |
| Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA | 1,112,320 | Tucson, AZ MSA | 1,063,162 | Pima County, Arizona | 1,063,162 |
| Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA | 1,112,320 | Nogales, AZ μSA | 49,158 | Santa Cruz County, Arizona | 49,158 |
| none | none | Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ MSA | 249,081 | Yavapai County, Arizona | 249,081 |
| none | none | Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ MSA | 223,682 | Mohave County, Arizona | 223,682 |
| none | none | Yuma, AZ MSA | 213,221 | Yuma County, Arizona | 213,221 |
| none | none | Flagstaff, AZ MSA | 144,472 | Coconino County, Arizona | 144,472 |
| none | none | Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ MSA | 124,640 | Cochise County, Arizona | 124,640 |
| none | none | Show Low, AZ μSA | 109,175 | Navajo County, Arizona | 109,175 |
| none | none | Safford, AZ μSA | 39,525 | Graham County, Arizona | 39,525 |
| none | none | none | none | Apache County, Arizona | 65,036 |
| none | none | none | none | La Paz County, Arizona | 16,710 |
| none | none | none | none | Greenlee County, Arizona | 9,369 |
| State of Arizona | State of Arizona | State of Arizona | State of Arizona | State of Arizona | 7,431,344 |

## Core-based statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The 11 core-based statistical areas of the State of Arizona :
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ MSA | 5,070,110 | +4.63% | 4,845,832 | +15.57% | 4,192,887 |
| 2 | Tucson, AZ MSA | 1,063,162 | +1.89% | 1,043,433 | +6.44% | 980,263 |
| 3 | Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ MSA | 249,081 | +5.45% | 236,209 | +11.93% | 211,033 |
| 4 | Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ MSA | 223,682 | +4.88% | 213,267 | +6.53% | 200,186 |
| 5 | Yuma, AZ MSA | 213,221 | +4.58% | 203,881 | +4.15% | 195,751 |
| 6 | Flagstaff, AZ MSA | 144,472 | −0.43% | 145,101 | +7.95% | 134,421 |
| 7 | Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ MSA | 124,640 | −0.64% | 125,447 | −4.49% | 131,346 |
| 8 | Show Low, AZ μSA | 109,175 | +2.30% | 106,717 | −0.68% | 107,449 |
| 9 | Payson, AZ μSA | 54,003 | +1.37% | 53,272 | −0.61% | 53,597 |
| 10 | Nogales, AZ μSA | 49,158 | +3.12% | 47,669 | +0.53% | 47,420 |
| 11 | Safford, AZ μSA | 39,525 | +2.57% | 38,533 | +3.53% | 37,220 |

## Combined statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The two combined statistical areas of the State of Arizona :
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA | 5,124,113 | +4.59% | 4,899,104 | +15.37% | 4,246,484 |
| 2 | Tucson-Nogales, AZ CSA | 1,112,320 | +1.94% | 1,091,102 | +6.17% | 1,027,683 |