The Phoenix metro is one of the fastest-growing regions in the entire country, and it isn't the city of Phoenix itself driving most of it — it's the ring of suburbs and exurbs exploding out across the desert. If you're moving to the Valley, buying a home, or just wondering which areas are booming, here are the fastest-growing cities in the Phoenix area, ranked by the latest U.S. Census Bureau numbers, plus the honest reasons behind the boom and the one thing every buyer should check before signing on the far edge of town.
Where these numbers come from
Everything below is drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau's official "City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2024" estimates, released in May 2025 — the most authoritative population data available. Two figures matter throughout: each city's 2020 census count versus its July 2024 estimate (the four-year boom), and its one-year growth rate from 2023 to 2024 (how hot it is right now). For context, the city of Phoenix itself is the fifth-largest city in the United States, but it grew only about 1.0% in the last year — proof that the real action is out in the suburbs, where the rates are five and eight times higher.
1. Queen Creek — the Valley's fastest-growing town
On the southeast edge of the metro, Queen Creek is the fastest-growing community in the Phoenix area by rate. It went from 59,519 residents in the 2020 census to an estimated 83,700 by July 2024 — a roughly 41% jump in four years — and it grew about 8.1% in the single year from 2023 to 2024, the highest one-year rate of any established city in the Valley. That pace has put Queen Creek on national fastest-growing-town lists year after year. Once a rural horse-and-farm town, it's now a booming suburb of new master-planned neighborhoods, shopping, and schools, while working hard to keep the semi-rural character that drew people in the first place.
2. Maricopa — the Pinal County boomtown
Drive south past the Gila River and you hit Maricopa, the runaway growth story of neighboring Pinal County. It grew from 58,125 residents in 2020 to an estimated 76,654 in 2024 — about 32% in four years — and roughly 7.4% in the last year alone. Maricopa's rise is the classic Phoenix pattern taken to its logical end: relatively affordable new-build homes on big lots, a straight shot up State Route 347 toward the job centers of the metro, and buyers willing to trade a longer commute for far more house per dollar. It's one of the clearest examples of the Valley's growth spilling well beyond Maricopa County lines.
3. Buckeye — the perennial national record-setter
No Valley city has made more national headlines for growth than Buckeye, on the far west side. It expanded from 91,502 residents in 2020 to an estimated 114,334 in 2024 — about 25% in four years — and it has been named the single fastest-growing city in the entire United States in multiple years (including 2017, 2018, and 2021), as well as the fastest-growing U.S. city of the 2010s decade. Its one-year rate cooled to a still-brisk 4.5% in 2023–2024, but that reflects a bigger base, not a slowdown in demand. Buckeye's advantage is raw land: it's one of the largest cities by area in the country, giving it room to keep building for decades. The trade-off is distance and water, which we get to below.
4. Goodyear — the West Valley's big-league player
Between Buckeye and Phoenix sits Goodyear, which has quietly become one of the metro's most substantial suburbs. It climbed from 95,294 residents in 2020 to an estimated 118,186 in 2024 — about 24% in four years — and grew roughly 5.4% in the last year, one of the strongest one-year rates among the Valley's larger cities. Goodyear pairs newer master-planned communities like Estrella against the Sierra Estrella mountains with a growing base of employers, distribution centers, and spring-training baseball, making it less a bedroom community and more a full-service city in its own right.
5. Surprise — the Northwest Valley's steady giant
Up in the northwest, Surprise is already one of the Valley's biggest suburbs and still growing fast. It rose from 143,148 residents in 2020 to an estimated 167,564 in 2024 — about 17% in four years — with a one-year rate near 5.3%. Because it started from a large base, Surprise's percentage looks smaller than Queen Creek's, but in raw numbers it added roughly as many people as anyone on this list. It's a mix of established retirement communities, family-friendly new neighborhoods, and a downtown and sports-and-entertainment district the city has been building out for years.
Honorable mentions worth watching
A handful of smaller and unincorporated places are growing even faster in percentage terms. Tolleson, a tiny city hemmed inside the West Valley, posted an eye-popping one-year rate near 30% in 2023–2024 — though off a very small base of under 10,000 people. Out in Pinal County, Casa Grande (about 7.7% in a year), Apache Junction (7.2%), and Coolidge (7.1%) are all booming as the metro's affordable frontier pushes outward. And San Tan Valley, a large unincorporated community near Queen Creek, has swelled into one of the biggest bedroom communities in the state despite not being an official city. If your search is really about where the next wave of building is headed, these are the names to watch.
Why everyone's moving here
The growth isn't random — it's a few forces stacking up. The biggest is affordability: buyers priced out of California, Seattle, Chicago, and even central Phoenix can get a newer, larger home for far less at the metro's edges, and they've decided a longer commute is worth it. Master-planned communities make that easy, delivering entire neighborhoods with parks, pools, trails, and schools built in from day one — places like Verrado in Buckeye and Estrella in Goodyear. Freeway expansion has unlocked the far suburbs too: the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway, completed in 2019, tied the West and East Valleys together, and the Loop 303 opened up the northwest. And jobs are following people out — most notably a major semiconductor-manufacturing boom in north Phoenix anchored by chipmaker TSMC, along with waves of distribution, healthcare, and back-office employers spreading across the Valley.
The one thing to check before you buy out here: water
Here's the caveat the boosters skip, and it's the single most useful thing on this page. In 2023, Arizona's water regulators announced that the Phoenix area does not have enough groundwater to support all of the future growth already on the books — effectively pausing approval of some new subdivisions that would rely solely on pumped groundwater. Development on secured, renewable water supplies continues, and the metro is not "running dry" tomorrow. But if you're buying a brand-new home on the far edges of the Valley — especially in fast-growing exurban areas like Buckeye and parts of Pinal County — it is completely fair, and smart, to ask the builder exactly where the community's long-term water comes from and whether it holds a state-designated assured water supply. A good builder answers plainly. It's the same slow-down-and-verify instinct we recommend for vetting any home service pro in Arizona or choosing a Phoenix roofer.
The bottom line
By the latest Census numbers, the fastest-growing cities in metro Phoenix are Queen Creek (up about 41% since 2020), Maricopa (32%), Buckeye (25%), Goodyear (24%), and Surprise (17%) — with Queen Creek leading the way on current momentum and Buckeye holding the long-term national crown. Whichever way the ring of the Valley expands next, the pattern is the same: affordable new homes, master-planned neighborhoods, new freeways, and jobs chasing the people out to the desert's edge. Come with your eyes open on commute and water, and there's a reason so many people are choosing to plant roots here.
New to the Valley and figuring out where to land? Browse our neighborhood deep-dive on Arcadia, Phoenix's greenest neighborhood, our roundup of things to do around Phoenix, and the best day trips from Phoenix once you're settled. And if you run a great business in one of these booming suburbs, tell us about it or nominate it to be featured — we're always looking for the Valley's best.