5 benefits of expanding a business to Greater Phoenix

Published: 07/14/2026

Reasons why Greater Phoenix is the right place to expand your business

When companies are considering business expansion, Greater Phoenix has become a frequent target. It’s a market of nearly 5 million residents that is one of the fastest growing in the country, with a population expected to reach nearly 6 million people by 2033 and a real GDP that has outpaced national growth since 2020. Arizona is the 15th-largest economy in the U.S., and Greater Phoenix drives 75.3% of it, with thriving advanced manufacturing, healthcare and biosciences, semiconductor and software industries fueling industry and job growth.

As your company evaluates where to expand next, Greater Phoenix has more to offer than you may expect. Here are five reasons why Greater Phoenix is among the top markets for business expansion.

1. Pro-business environment

Arizona’s policymakers work to lower the cost of doing business, helping to make Greater Phoenix one of the most business-friendly regions in the country. The state offers a low corporate income tax and exempts companies from several taxes that many other states impose, including franchise tax, business inventory tax, estate tax, and gross receipts tax. Arizona also offers a variety of economic development programs including the Qualified Facilities Tax Credit, which helps manufacturing, R&D and headquarters facilities; research and development tax savings that scale with investment; and unique Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) benefits that offers significantly property tax and import duties savings for import-heavy or manufacturing companies that can lower property tax bills by up to 68% a year. Additionally, HB2822 sets personal property valuation at 2.5% for qualifying commercial, agricultural and FTZs.

2. Education and talent pipeline

Greater Phoenix’s education to prepare students for the workforce starts young. Arizona’s open-enrollment policy lets parents choose the public school that best fits their children’s needs. Specialty K-12 programs in STEM, arts and language, like the Arizona School for the Arts and Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology’s high school partnerships, build career-ready skills well before graduation. Students can also get hands-on business experience through programs like DECA and the East Valley Institute of Technology, which prepares them for careers in marketing, finance, management and more. Beyond public schools, students have access to strong charter and private options too, including the BASIS Charter School Network, consistently ranked among the top-performing schools in the country.

That foundation carries into higher education. Arizona State University (ASU), home to 73,000 students between its four campuses in Greater Phoenix, draws more than 15,000 international students from 157 countries. It has the largest engineering program in the nation, with over 30,000 enrollees, 67% of which stay in Arizona after graduation. Grand Canyon University (GCU) enrolls 25,000 in-person students at its Phoenix campus, and is known for strong programs including computer programming, health sciences and cybersecurity. The University of Arizona, based in Tucson, operates its College of Medicine in Phoenix.

Beyond universities, community colleges extend the talent pool even further. Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) offers over 900 areas of study across 10 campuses, with credit programs covering 95% of the region’s highest-demand occupations, and now offers bachelor’s degrees in addition to associate’s and certificates. Central Arizona College adds to the workforce pipeline, with education across industries at five campuses in Pinal County.

These universities and community colleges partner with industry leaders to ensure curriculum matches hiring needs. GCU partners with more than 5,500 employers across 22 advisory boards to provide hands-on manufacturing experience; ASU offers collaborative opportunities at facilities like its MacroTechnology Works and the Bio design Institute; MCCCD partnered with TSMC and Intel to offer Registered Technician Apprenticeships, accelerated bootcamps, and associate degrees tailored for semiconductor equipment, process, and facilities technicians, including the Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program; and CAC works with Drive 48 for automotive assembly and electric vehicle education.

3. Reliable infrastructure and Connectivity

Greater Phoenix makes it easier move goods, resources and people when expanding business. The region has spent years building both the physical and legal foundation to support growth. Traveling around the region is easy, as Interstates 10 and 17 run through the heart of Greater Phoenix, and the planned Interstate 11 will soon connect central and southern Arizona to Las Vegas and the U.S.-Mexico border. Within the region, a 35-mile light rail system moves residents and employees between key business hubs, with plans to expand to 66 miles by 2034. With this infrastructure, Greater Phoenix has one of the shortest average commutes among major U.S. metros, at just 26 minutes, helping employees spend less time in traffic and making it simpler to relocate and settle into life in Greater Phoenix.

Connectivity extends well beyond the region’s borders. More than 12,000 daily domestic and international flights move through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, while Mesa Gateway Airport connects to more than 60 cities and houses over 40 companies in its surrounding area, including Gulfstream, XNRYGY and Dexcom. The international reach now extends to Asia, too. Sky Harbor and Gateway have long held presences in countries like Mexico, Canada, France and England, but STARLUX and China Airlines recently launched the first direct flights from Sky Harbor to Taiwan, connecting Greater Phoenix directly to one of the world’s most advanced technology markets.

For companies that ship goods, nearly 35 million consumers are accessible within a single day’s truck haul and shipping costs to California run up to 66% lower than other Mountain West markets.

Among key infrastructure investments in Arizona has been water infrastructure. The state understands that water security is also critical to long-term planning. Arizona maintains a 100-year assured water supply to meet both current and future demand of residents and industry, ensuring companies can expand with certainty that they will not lose water access. Major companies are leading by example: Intel partnered with the City of Chandler on a facility that recycles water daily, aiming to return more clean water than it uses. TSMC is building its own on-site water recycling plant to reuse the water from its operations. The Palo Verde Generating Station, the largest power plant in the country, runs entirely on reclaimed wastewater and is exploring dry-cooling systems that would use minimal water.

Put together, this infrastructure does more than move people and goods — it lowers the cost of doing business.

4. Grid reliability and lack of natural disasters

Greater Phoenix has one of the most reliable power grids in the country, ranking third-best nationwide, well ahead of states like Texas and California. Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Service (APS) are the region’s two largest power providers, keeping outages rare even during peak summer demand — residents and businesses experience fewer than three hours of power downtime a year. This reliability gives businesses consistent, uninterrupted power to operate on, supporting everything from daily operations and 24/7-hour production to long-term growth.

The lack of natural disaster risk extends that stability. With no earthquakes, major floods or snowstorms causing freezes, the region experiences far fewer weather and climate disasters than states like Texas, California or Colorado, protecting businesses from the physical damage, operational disruption and financial losses.

SRP, APS and other industry leaders are also in the process of developing additional grid capacity. The two, along with Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy Services and the city of Mesa, have announced plans to expand the Transwestern Pipeline’s Desert Southwest from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona. APS has also announced plans to convert two units at the Cholla Power Plant to natural gas, while SRP is evaluating the feasibility of expanded pumped storage, including a potential hydrostorage project at Apache Lake that would create 2 GB of new power.

5. Lifestyle and livability

Greater Phoenix is a great place to live for any of lifestyle from city dwellers to thrill-seekers to those raising families, helping employment hiring and retention.

Three Greater Phoenix cities rank among the top 25 in the country to raise a family, and four suburbs rank among the 20 most affordable U.S. cities to live in. This is based on a variety of factors ranging from sports and entertainment to mega events to a flat state income tax rate of just 2.5%. The region offers year-round outdoor access, with more than 300 days of sunshine annually, extensive hiking trails, and over 300 golf courses. Sports and entertainment are a big part of life, as Greater Phoenix is home to six professional sports teams across the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA and USL, along with signature annual events like spring training, the Fiesta Bowl, the NASCAR Championship Series and Barrett-Jackson.

That entertainment culture is matched by a thriving arts and culinary scene. Greater Phoenix is home to more than 40 museums, and seven local music venues with capacity for 15,000 or more people. Three Greater Phoenix restaurants have been named to Yelp’s Top 100 U.S. Restaurants list, and the region is the home to two James Beard Award winning chefs.

With a diverse offering of restaurants from around the world, cheaper housing than other major markets, ease of commutes to work or remote work, and access to education opportunities of your choice, Greater Phoenix offers a high quality of life. For companies prioritizing hiring, operating where employees want to live is key for continued business growth and expansion.