602 Area Code 🌍☎️

Phoenix is the capital and most populous city of Arizona, with over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous U.S. city and the most populous state capital, while its metropolitan area of 5.19 million residents ranks tenth nationally. Located in the Salt River Valley as the county seat of Maricopa County, Phoenix covers 517.9 square miles, making it Arizona's largest city by area and the 11th-largest in the United States. Founded in 1867 as an agricultural settlement near the confluence of the Salt and Gila Rivers and incorporated in 1881, Phoenix became Arizona Territory's capital in 1889, with its historic canal system enabling farming of alfalfa, cotton, citrus, and hay - the economic foundations known as the "Five C's" alongside cattle and copper. After World War II, the city transitioned from agriculture to high-tech industry as air conditioning enabled growth in its hot desert climate within the Sonoran Desert, achieving a gross domestic product exceeding $362 billion by 2022 and averaging four percent annual population growth from the mid-1960s to mid-2000s. Today, Phoenix serves as Arizona's cultural center with a population that is 42 percent Hispanic, making it one of the largest plurality Hispanic cities in the nation. Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, part of the Phoenix metropolitan area that grew from 2,000 residents at its 1951 incorporation to 241,361 at the 2020 census, making it one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities over the past two decades. Founded in 1894 by retired U.S. Army Chaplain Winfield Scott, who purchased 640 acres for $3.50 per acre in 1888, the city earned its slogan "The West's Most Western Town" and spans 184.5 square miles bordered by Phoenix to the west, Tonto National Forest to the north, the McDowell Mountains to the east, and the Salt River to the south. Originally an Akimel O'odham village called Vaṣai S-vaṣonĭ meaning "rotting hay," Scottsdale developed from the 1880s onward as an agricultural community, with key infrastructure including the 1896 public school system and the 1897 first post office. Between 1908 and 1933, dam construction and Long Staple Egyptian Cotton farming drove significant population growth, supported by early cultural development including the region's first resort, the Ingleside Inn, opened in 1909. Today, Scottsdale's economy reflects its evolution from agricultural roots to a major metropolitan center, with notable historic landmarks like the Little Red Schoolhouse (1909) and Cavalliere's Blacksmith Shop remaining continuously operational since their original openings. Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, with a 2020 population of 180,587, and serves as home to Arizona State University's main campus, one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States. Originally settled by the Hohokam people who built agricultural canals, the area was permanently resettled beginning in 1865 following the establishment of Fort McDowell, with pioneer Darrell Duppa naming the city Tempe in 1879 after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. The Arizona Territorial Legislature established the Territorial Normal School in Tempe in 1885, which evolved into Arizona State University, while the completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 secured water resources that ensured the region's agricultural and economic development. The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad connected Tempe to the nation's transportation system in 1887, and the city was officially incorporated by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 1894 as an economic hub for surrounding farmland. Located as an inner suburb between Phoenix and the East Valley, Tempe has expanded in the 20th and 21st centuries as a center of education and commerce.