Chandler, Arizona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Matchups (talk | contribs) at 04:07, 11 February 2007 (→‎Famous people: *In Tam - Cambodian politician.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

City of Chandler, Arizona
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountiesMaricopa
Government
 • MayorBoyd W. Dunn
Population
 (2006)[1]
 • Total243,725
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no daylight saving time))
Websitehttp://www.chandleraz.gov

Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Chandler is one of the major suburbs of Phoenix. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 176,582. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 234,939.[1] Chandler is an example of modern urban sprawl (its population boomed from a 1980 figure of 30,000 to a 2007 figure of over 240,000[1]). The city contains a large amount of modest tract home developments. Intel Corporation has a major presence in Chandler with four locations within the city.[2] Other technology firms also have operations within the city. In 2001, a 1.3 million square-foot shopping mall opened in Chandler.

History

In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon in Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa, studying irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres of land, and began drawing up plans for a townsite on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The townsite office opened on May 17, 1912, the same year that Chandler High School was established. By 1913, a town center had become established, featuring the luxurious Hotel San Marcos, the first golf resort in the state.

While Chandler stagnated through the Great Depression, the founding of Williams Air Force Base in 1941 led to a small surge in population, but Chandler still only held 3,800 people by 1950. By 1980, it had grown to 30,000, and it has since paced the Phoenix metropolitan area's high rate of growth, with vast suburban residential areas swallowing former agricultural plots. Some of this growth was fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Motorola and Intel, but despite the inclusion of many large businesses, Chandler is often considered a bedroom community for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Geography

Chandler is located at 33°17′52″N 111°51′49″W / 33.29778°N 111.86361°W / 33.29778; -111.86361Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (33.297756, -111.863522)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 150.2 km² (58.0 mi²). 149.9 km² (57.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water.

Chandler has reached its physical limits save for some remaining county islands and cannot expand outward anymore due to being bound in by the Gila River Indian Community, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Phoenix.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 176,581 people, 62,377 households, and 45,410 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,177.7/km² (3,050.5/mi²). There were 66,592 housing units at an average density of 444.1/km² (1,150.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.19% White, 3.48% Black or African American, 1.20% Native American, 4.22% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 10.76% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 20.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Following the 2000 census, Chandler has remained one of the fastest growing cities in America, reaching population growth above 20% since this time. Growth is expected to subside within the next ten years due to fixed borders with Pinal County and the Gila River Indian Reservation [2] to the south, Mesa and Tempe to the north, Phoenix to the west, and Gilbert to the northeast.

There were 62,377 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,416, and the median income for a family was $62,720. Males had a median income of $44,578 versus $31,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,904. About 4.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Chandler is noted for its annual Ostrich Festival. Initially, agriculture was the primary business in Chandler, based on cotton, corn, and alfalfa. During the 1910s, there were ostrich farms in the area, catering to the demand for plumes used in women's hats of the era. This demand ebbed with the increasing popularity of the automobile, but the legacy of the ostrich farms would be commemorated by the Ostrich Festival.

Chandler Public Library

The Chandler Public Library (CPL) serves Chandler and the greater Phoenix East Valley. The main branch is located in downtown Chandler, with three additional branches located throughout the city: Sunset, Basha High School, and Hamilton High School. Basha and Hamilton branches are shared-use facilities located on high school campuses.

As part of a family literacy project to encourage literacy and library use among families who live in public housing, the Chandler Public Library visited three public housing locations to offer a four-week series of programs at each. [3]

Trivia

  • The street signs in Chandler are brown-colored.
  • Chandler has two In-N-Out Burgers. It is one of 18 cities outside of California where In-N-Out has located.[3]

Famous people

Education

Most of Chandler is served by the Chandler Unified School District.

To the west Chandler is served by the Kyrene Elementary School District and the Tempe Union High School District, and to the north by Mesa Public Schools. The San Vincente neighborhood in Chandler is served by the Gilbert Public Schools.

The USD portion of Chandler is served by three high schools: Chandler High School, Hamilton High School, and Basha High School, with Perry High School coming soon.

Radio and television licenses

Chandler has only one radio license: KMLE.

References

  1. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places over 100,000" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21 2006. Retrieved November 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "ITCA: Gila River Indian Community". Retrieved June 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Cultural Inventory Project: Chandler Public Library

External links

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

Template:USLargestCities

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chandler,_Arizona&oldid=107239022"