As Arizona continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in the nation, the state’s population provides a strong pipeline of skilled talent with a drive for innovation. The state's job opportunities and premier quality of life attracts workers every year, with a momentum that’s only growing.
Largest Production Occupations Job Growth
Lightcast, 2025
LARGEST BLUE-COLLAR JOB GROWTH
Lightcast, 2025
FASTEST LABOR FORCE GROWTH - ARIZONA, 2015-2025
Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity & U.S. Department of Labor, 2025
BEST JOB CREATION RATE
SimplifyLLC, 2025
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona’s workforce of 3 million has added more than 487,000 people since 2015. With more than 70 percent of the state's population born outside of Arizona, its clear people are flocking to Arizona for boundless opportunity and an unmatched quality of life.
NET MIGRATION - MARICOPA COUNTY
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2025
TOTAL POPULATION - ARIZONA
LARGEST CITY IN THE U.S. - PHOENIX
Largest Growing State – Arizona
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2025
Arizona's approach to workforce development is collaboration. We bring together academia, industry and community leaders and more to design customized solutions to meet private-sector needs.
The Arizona Commerce Authority has invested $100 million to strengthen Arizona's semiconductor ecosystem, focusing on the rapid development, commercialization and manufacturing of next-generation U.S. semiconductor technologies. The ACA is collaborating with industry partners to identify and address research infrastructure and workforce needs. Investments from the ACA include:
Investment to Arizona State University's Applied Materials/ASU Materials to Fab (MTF) Laboratory.
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Investment to Northern Arizona University's Metrology program, research and training.
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Investment to launch first U.S. Apprenticeship Program for Manufacturing Facility Technicians.
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Arizona is home to a world-renowned university system and one of the largest community college systems in the country. The trio of state universities and the community and private colleges are committed to preparing students for promising futures in leading industries.
Universities and Community Colleges
Post-Secondary Students Enrolled
Schools Offering Career & Technical Education
ENGINEERING STUDENTS ENROLLED AT PUBLIC ARIZONA UNIVERSITIES
Arizona’s diverse and innovative education system prepares students for tomorrow’s workforce. The system includes magnet schools for the arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and other specialties, as well as high-quality public and private schools. Moreover, the state’s public and charter schools have near-universal open enrollment so parents may send their children to a school of their choice.
Arizona has more charter schools than any other state with one in five students in Arizona attending a charter school. BASIS Charter Schools, founded in Arizona over 25 years ago, has many locations across the state and due to its success has expanded to states across the nation. These schools are routinely listed on “best high schools” lists with BASIS Tucson North recently named the best high school and best charter high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and has 11 of the top 100 high schools in the nation. In Arizona, BASIS students boast an average 95 percent AP exam pass rate and 100 percent of graduates are accepted to a four-year college or university.
PHOENIX, AZ (May 4, 2026) – Building on strong economic momentum and record levels of international activity and investment, Arizona celebrated the opening of the Taiwan Trade and Investment Service Center in Phoenix on Friday, May 1, which will serve as a platform to increase collaboration, trade and foreign direct investment opportunities between Arizona and Taiwan. On April 30-May 1, the ACA hosted the Arizona AI & Semiconductor Global Forum, supported by SelectUSA. The forum brought together Arizona partners and a delegation of over 100 business, government, academia, and community leaders from around the world to learn about Arizona’s advantages and explore investment opportunities ahead of the SelectUSA Investment Summit on May 3-6.
READ MORE about Arizona Showcases AI & Semiconductor Leadership and Celebrates New Taiwan Trade & Investment Center »PHOENIX, AZ (April 23, 2026) – It’s been an action-packed April for Arizona, marked by the inaugural Arizona Tech Week and, soon after, the state’s first time hosting the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Phoenix. Together, these milestones highlight Arizona’s accelerating momentum and underscore the strength of its growing tech ecosystem. The first-ever Arizona Tech Week, which was powered by the Arizona Commerce Authority, made a record-setting debut, drawing more than 18,000 attendees to 419 events across the state and becoming the largest inaugural tech week ever held in the United States and internationally. 29 communities across Arizona hosted events during the weeklong celebration, highlighting the strength and diversity of Arizona’s innovation economy.
READ MORE about By The Numbers: Arizona Celebrates Largest-Ever Inaugural Tech Week »
