Maricopa County, Arizona, USA

Maricopa County is a county in south-central Arizona, occupying much of the Sonoran Desert and encompassing the Phoenix metropolitan area, the economic and population center of the state. Phoenix serves as both the county seat and the Arizona state capital, while other major municipalities include Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, Peoria, Surprise, Goodyear, Avondale and Buckeye. The county’s landscape ranges from broad desert basins and irrigated river valleys to rugged mountain ranges, including the White Tank, Estrella, McDowell and Superstition mountains. The Salt, Gila, Agua Fria and Hassayampa rivers traverse portions of the county, although many flow intermittently or are heavily managed by dams and reservoirs. Maricopa County covers approximately 9,200 square miles of land and had 4,420,568 residents at the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Arizona and one of the fastest-growing large counties in the United States.