Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587.
The city is home to the main campus of Arizona State University, one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States.
History
The Hohokam lived in this area and built canals to support their agriculture. They abandoned their settlements during the 15th century, with a few individuals and families remaining nearby.Fort McDowell was established approximately northeast of present downtown Tempe on the upper Salt River in 1865 allowing for new towns to be built farther down the Salt River. US military service members and Hispanic workers were hired to grow food and animal feed to supply the fort, and less than a year later, had set up small camps near the river that were the first permanent communities in the Valley after the fall of the Hohokam. The two settlements were 'Hayden's Ferry', named after a ferry service operated by Charles T. Hayden, and 'San Pablo', and were located west and east of Hayden Butte respectively. The ferry became the key river crossing in the area. The Tempe Irrigating Canal Company was soon established by William Kirkland and James McKinney to provide water for alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, and cotton.
Pioneer Darrell Duppa is credited with suggesting Tempe's name, adopted in 1879, after comparing the Salt River valley near a -tall butte, to the Vale of Tempe near Mount Olympus in Greece.
From its founding in 1871 until 90 years later, Tempe was a sundown town where African Americans were permitted to work but forced to live elsewhere. In 1965, Warren and Carol Livingston were the first African Americans to buy property in Tempe.
In 1885, the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature chose Tempe for the site of the Territorial Normal School, which became Arizona Normal School, Arizona State Teachers College, Arizona State College and finally Arizona State University.
The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in 1887, crossed the Salt River at Tempe, linking the town to the nation's growing transportation system. The Tempe Land and Improvement Company was formed to sell lots in the booming town. Tempe became an economic hub for the surrounding agricultural area. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors incorporated the town of Tempe in 1894.
The completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough water to meet the growing needs of Valley farmers. On his way to dedicate the dam, former President Theodore Roosevelt applauded the accomplishments of the people of central Arizona and predicted that their towns would be prosperous cities in the future. Less than a year later, Arizona was admitted as the 48th state, and the Salt River Valley continued to develop.
On August 30, 1971, Tempe was hit by a rare F2 tornado that injured 41 people, the most injuries recorded from a tornado in Arizona, and caused damage in upwards of $3 million. One indirect fatality occurred when a man died from a heart attack during the storm.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Tempe has expanded as a suburb of Phoenix, and as a center of education and commerce.
Geography
Tempe is an inner suburb, located between the core city of Phoenix and the rest of the East Valley. Due to this, as well as being the home of the main campus of Arizona State University, Tempe has a fairly dense, urbanized development pattern in the northern part of the city especially in relation to the Valley Metro Line. Going south, development becomes less dense, consisting of single-family homes, strip malls and lower-density office parks.The Salt River runs west through the northern part of Tempe; part of the river is dammed in two places to create Tempe Town Lake.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the landlocked city has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The total area is 0.32% water, including Tempe Town Lake. The city of Tempe is bordered by Mesa to the east, Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community to the north, Phoenix and Guadalupe to the west, and Chandler to the south.
Tempe is generally flat, except for Tempe Butte or Hayden Butte, located next to Sun Devil Stadium, Twin Buttes and Bell Butte on the western edge of Tempe, and the buttes within Papago Park at northwest corner of Tempe. Elevation ranges from at Tempe Town Lake to atop Hayden Butte.
Climate
Tempe experiences a desert climate with a higher degree of diurnal temperature variation than neighboring Phoenix.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 110,517 | 100,711 | 97,651 | 69.67% | 62.28% | 54.07% |
| Black or African American alone | 5,546 | 9,021 | 11,393 | 3.50% | 5.58% | 6.31% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 2,678 | 3,870 | 4,357 | 1.69% | 2.39% | 2.41% |
| Asian alone | 7,405 | 9,035 | 17,169 | 4.67% | 5.59% | 9.51% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 425 | 618 | 688 | 0.27% | 0.38% | 0.38% |
| Some Other Race alone | 244 | 312 | 939 | 0.15% | 0.19% | 0.52% |
| Mixed Race or Multi-Racial | 3,337 | 4,060 | 8,692 | 2.10% | 2.51% | 4.81% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 28,473 | 34,092 | 39,698 | 17.95% | 21.08% | 21.98% |
| Total | 158,625 | 161,719 | 180,587 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2010 census, there were 161,719 people, 63,602 households, and 33,645 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 67,068 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 77.5% White, 5.9% Black or African American, 2.9% Native American, 5.7% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 8.5% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 21.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 63,602 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, 19.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 21.3% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,361, and the median income for a family was $55,237. Males had a median income of $36,406 versus $28,605 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,406. About 7.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
There is a Mexican-American community in Tempe centered around the neighboring town of Guadalupe.
Economy
Tempe is the headquarters and executive office of one Fortune 500 company: DriveTime. Benchmark Electronics, Carvana, GoDaddy, NortonLifeLock, First Solar, the Salt River Project, Circle K, and Fulton Homes are also headquartered in Tempe. Cold Stone Creamery was originally headquartered in Tempe and location #0001 is still in operation today at 3330 S McClintock Drive in Tempe. Tempe prides itself in assisting burgeoning businesses and has a variety of resources and programs available, such as and .Tempe is also home to the first and largest campus of Arizona State University. It was the longtime host of the Fiesta Bowl, where it hosted multiple national championship college football games. It then began hosting the Insight Bowl in December 2006, which remained through the January 2015 playing, when it was known as the Cactus Bowl.
Tempe houses several performance venues including Gammage Auditorium and the Tempe Center for the Arts.
Tempe Town Lake is home to many national and international events, such as Ironman Arizona and Rock n Roll Marathon. Gammage Auditorium was also the site of one of the three Presidential debates in 2004, and Super Bowl XXX was played at Sun Devil Stadium. Additionally, Tempe is the spring training host city of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
One of Arizona's largest shopping malls, Arizona Mills, sits near the border with the town of Guadalupe. The city is the location of the first IKEA branch in Arizona, also near the southern boundary. Tempe Marketplace, a large open air mall featuring live music and water and laser shows, is located just southeast of Tempe Town Lake. Tempe can boast an array of wholesalers and manufacturers. Mill Avenue, located just west of Hayden Butte, is a shopping and entertainment area in the city popular with pedestrians and students. With the completion of Tempe Town Lake, commercial and high-rise development along the reservoir quickly transformed the cityscape of Mill Avenue and the skyline of downtown Tempe.
Top employers
According to Tempe's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the financial year ending June 2020, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | Employees |
| 1 | Arizona State University | 8,010 |
| 2 | State Farm Insurance | 6,550 |
| 3 | Freedom Financial Network | 2,300 |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association | 2,220 |
| 5 | ABM Industries Inc | 2,000 |
| 6 | City of Tempe | 1,983 |
| 7 | Honeywell | 1,540 |
| 8 | Total Events Management LLC | 1,040 |
| 9 | Wells Fargo | 1,030 |
| 10 | ADP Inc | 1,000 |
| 10 | Bank of the West | 1,000 |