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
Fastest 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.
BUCKEYE, AZ (April 8, 2026) – Burlington Stores, one of the fastest growing national off-price retailers, known for its tremendous value on brand name merchandise for the home and family, celebrated the groundbreaking of its future distribution center in Buckeye, Arizona, which is expected to open in 2028. The nearly 2-million-square-foot distribution center is estimated to bring thousands of new jobs and career opportunities to Buckeye and the surrounding area. When complete, Burlington’s new distribution center will be one of the company’s most advanced to date, including highly automated and include advanced systems and cutting-edge technology.
READ MORE about Burlington Stores Breaks Ground On Future Distribution Center In Buckeye »PHOENIX, AZ (April 6, 2026) – As the inaugural Arizona Tech Week kicks off today through April 12, the state is set to draw thousands of attendees to celebrate Arizona’s technology leadership. A first-of-its-kind statewide decentralized event and powered by the Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Tech Week features more than 400 partner-hosted events statewide – from hands-on workshops and founder meetups to panel discussions, tech demos, startup pitches, experiential events and much more. To help streamline the experience for event organizers, the ACA is leveraging Partiful, a third-party software that offers event hosts a standardized RSVP management system, free of charge. The tool enables each event host to track, manage, and communicate with event attendees.
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