Sprawl is hottest far from old cities

New figures today show triple-digit growth rates for both Sahuarita and Marana between the 2000 count by the U.S. Census Bureau and July 1, 2006. In fact, Sahuarita is the third-fastest-growing community in the state in this decade; Marana is No. 8. By contrast, Arizona's population has increased a comparatively low 16.8 percent in the same period.

The growth pattern around Tucson is mirrored elsewhere around the state.

Major cities continue to increase their populations, albeit slower than the statewide average. The communities that had been the suburbs a decade or two ago still are growing, though their rate of new residents has slowed as they become built-out and as housing becomes less affordable closer to where people work.

That had led people to flee to what are called the "exurbs" — the communities that until relatively recently were made up of little more than farmland.

For example, since the beginning of the decade, Tucson has eked out just a 6.5 percent increase in population. And Oro Valley went up more than 22 percent. But Marana's population is up 116 percent since 2000 — and nearly 15 percent in one year alone. Sahuarita posted a 251 percent increase since the census and is up more than 44 percent in a year.

A similar pattern is showing up around Phoenix.

That city grew fast enough in a year to officially overtake Philadelphia last July as the fifth-largest city in the nation. But its 14.5 percent growth rate since 2000 still trailed the statewide average, as did Tempe's and Mesa's.

Arizona's four biggest cities — Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa and Glendale — have kept the same rankings they had in 2000, but their growth was far outpaced by that of the more distant suburbs.

Chandler boosted its population by almost 36 percent, a move that helped it edge out Scottsdale to become the state's fifth-largest city. And Gilbert is up more than 73 percent, overtaking Tempe for No. 7.

Even farther out, Queen Creek is up 377 percent. Similarly, the far suburbs of Goodyear, Buckeye, Surprise and El Mirage also are posting triple-digit gains.

The situation has gotten to the point where people who work in Phoenix are willing to make the commute through the Gila River Indian Community each day to Maricopa, in Pinal County. The city of Maricopa wasn't even incorporated when the Census Bureau did its decennial count. But the agency estimates that Maricopa's population ballooned from about 1,500 at that time to more than 30,000 on July 1 of last year.

And that figure was nearly triple from just a year before.

Some other Arizona communities are showing that same pattern of growth, as people seek to live farther away from the city.

For example, Yuma grew by 12.5 percent since 2000, while San Luis is up more than 47 percent, and Somerton's population has increased nearly 45 percent.

Prescott is growing at less than half the rate of Prescott Valley. And the population of Williams is increasing faster than Flagstaff's count.