Gila (pronounced “HEE-la”) Bend is located 45 minutes southwest of Phoenix in Maricopa County. The town was founded in 1872, and is rich in historic western and ancient Native American ties. This growing town is poised for future world-class, yet sustainable, economic development.

Principal Economic Activities

Gila Bend’s strategic location serves as the major crossroad between San Diego, Mexico, Tucson and the Phoenix Metropolitan area. A quickly emerging manufacturing and distribution sector is blossoming due to the town’s increasingly advantageous positioning and draws from the 1.6 million residents of the Phoenix west valley. There is a strong presence in the agribusiness and energy generation industries. Gila Bend houses six sustainable and growing dairies with over 90,000 acres in cultivation of alfalfa, cotton and grain. Residents have access to a robust water aquifer able to meet the highest-level of demands for agriculture and energy generation. The 367 MW utility-scale solar system, in addition to the gas-fired generation station, makes Gila Bend a leading source of reliable and responsible energy. Gila Bend continually seeks to take advantage of tools to leverage its competitive advantage. This can be exemplified with the adoption of its solar field overlay, allowing for a truly expedited permitting process.

Scenic Attractions

Outdoor assets include 500,000 acres of scenic landscape, three archaeological sites, historical trails and various choices for outdoor adventures. Local attractions include the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, Gatlin Archeological Site, Fortaleza, Gillespie Dam Bridge, Butterfield Stage Route, Juan Bautista de Anza Historic Trail and the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Additionally, the town is two-and-a-half hours from the popular beach destination Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. Gila Bend is also within a five hour or less drive-time of the scenic attractions that the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, San Diego, Flagstaff and Pinetop-Lakeside have to offer.

Community Facilities

Gila Bend has 13-acres of developed parks and lighted fields, an airport, a 12,000-square foot Town Museum and Office of Tourism, a 20-acre public shooting range, a 5-acre rodeo ground, a public pool and a town office. The town promotes community vitality through its robust Family Resource Center and county-leading senior center which provide a wide-range of activities and programs for the 60-and-over age group.

Basic Information

Founded 1872 Incorporated 1962
Elevation 737 ft. Location Maricopa County
     
Distance to major cities:
Phoenix 68 miles San Diego 286 miles
Tucson 124 miles Los Angeles 375 miles
Las Vegas 318 miles  

Population

2000 2010 2023 (est.)
Gila Bend 1,980 1,932 1,893
Maricopa County 3,072,149 3,824,058 4,507,419
State of Arizona 5,130,632 6,401,569 7,285,370

Office of Economic Opportunity

Arizona Dept. of Revenue & Arizona Tax Research Foundation

SALES TAX / TRANSACTION PRIVILEGE TAX

Gila Bend 3.50%
Maricopa County 0.70%
State 5.60%

Arizona Dept. of Revenue & Arizona Tax Research Foundation

Labor Force

2000 2010 2022
Civilian Labor Force 839 738 944
Unemployed 47 57 8
Unemployment Rate 5.6% 7.7% 0.8%

Office of Economic Opportunity

Workforce Education Attainment

Count Share
Less than high school 374 28.7%
High school or equivalent, no college 454 34.8%
Some college or Associate degree 320 24.6%
Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree 155 11.9%

American Community Survey

Industry (ranked by employment)

  Count Share
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, & mining 148 16.4%
Professional, scientific, & administrative services 120 13.3%
Arts, entertainment, food & recreation services 115 12.7%
Education, health care & social assistance 114 12.6%
Transportation, warehousing, & utilities 114 12.6%
Finance, insurance & real estate 92 10.2%
Retail trade 81 9.0%
Manufacturing 50 5.5%
Construction 46 5.1%
Other services, except public administration 22 2.4%
Information 0 0.0%
Public administration 0 0.0%
Wholesale trade 0 0.0%

American Community Survey

This profile was prepared by the Arizona Commerce Authority in cooperation with local sources. For further information, please contact:

Town of Gila Bend
Katherine Valenzuela
P.O. Box A
Gila Bend, AZ 85337
Phone: 928-683-2255
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.gilabendaz.org
Town of Gila Bend, Economic
Development

P.O. Box A
Gila Bend, AZ 85337
Phone: 928-683-2255
Website: www.gilabendaz.org
Greater Phoenix Economic Council
2 N. Central Avenue, Suite 2500
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-256-7700
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.gpec.org
Arizona Commerce Authority
Statewide Economic Development Group
100 N. 7th Ave., Suite 400
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-845-1200
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.azcommerce.com



ACA has partnered with APS to provide you with Arizona Prospector, a free database to access available real estate opportunities in rural Arizona. Click here to access available properties in this community.