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Economy of Arizona facts for kids

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Barringer Crater aerial photo by USGS
Arizona's Meteor Crater is a tourist attraction.

The Economy of Arizona had a total gross state product of $373 billion in 2020. The composition of the state's economy is moderately diverse; although health care, transportation and the government remain the largest sectors.

The state's per capita income is $40,828, ranking 39th in the U.S. The state had a median household income of $50,448, making it 22nd in the country and just below the U.S. national mean. Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on the "five C's": copper (see Copper mining in Arizona), cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate (tourism). Copper is still extensively mined from many expansive open-pit and underground mines, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's output.

Employment

Total employment 2016

  • 2,379,409

Total employer establishments 2016

  • 139,134

The state government is Arizona's largest employer, while Banner Health is the state's largest private employer, with over 39,000 employees (2016). As of March 2016, the state's unemployment rate was 5.4%.

The top employment sectors in Arizona are (August 2014, excludes agriculture):

Sector Employees (thousands)
Trade, transportation, and utilities 488.6
Government 408.5
Education and health services 392.1
Professional and business services 384.2
Leisure and hospitality 286.4
Financial activities 193.2
Manufacturing 156.0
Construction 118.2
Other services 88.2
Information 41.8
Mining and logging 13.7

Largest employers

According to The Arizona Republic, the largest private employers in the state as of 2016 were:

Rank Company Employees Industry
1 Banner Health 39,800 Health care
2 Walmart Stores, Inc. 34,900 Discount retailer
3 Kroger Co. 16,900 Grocery stores
4 McDonald's Corp. 15,200 Food service
5 Wells Fargo & Co. 15,100 Financial services
6 Albertsons Inc. 14,500 Grocery stores, retail drugstores
7 Intel Corp. 11,300 Semiconductor manufacturing
8 HonorHealth 10,600 Health care
9 (tie) American Airlines 10,000 Airline
Home Depot Inc. 10,000 Retail home improvement
Honeywell International Inc. 10,000 Aerospace manufacturing
12 Bank of America Corp. 9,800 Financial services
13 Raytheon Co. 9,600 Defense (missile manufacturing)
14 JP Morgan Chase & Co. 9,500 Financial services
15 Bashas' Supermarkets 8,500 Grocery stores
16 Target Corp. 8,200 Discount retailer
17 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. 8,000 Mining
18 Dignity Health 8,000 Health care
19 CVS Health 7,200 Pharmaceutical services (including retail drugstores)
20 American Express Co. 7,100 Financial services
21 Circle K Corp. 6,800 Convenience stores
22 UnitedHealthcare 6,000 Health care
23 Pinnacle West Capital Corp. 6,400 Electric utility
24 Mayo Foundation 6,300 Health care
25 Amazon.com 6,000 Online Shopping

Taxation

Arizona collects personal income taxes in five brackets: 2.59%, 2.88%, 3.36%, 4.24% and 4.54%. The state transaction privilege tax is 5.6%; however, county and municipal sales taxes generally add an additional 2%.

The state rate on transient lodging (hotel/motel) is 7.27%. The state of Arizona does not levy a state tax on food for home consumption or on drugs prescribed by a licensed physician or dentist. However, some cities in Arizona do levy a tax on food for home consumption.

All fifteen Arizona counties levy a tax. Incorporated municipalities also levy transaction privilege taxes which, with the exception of their hotel/motel tax, are generally in the range of 1-to-3%. These added assessments could push the combined sales tax rate to as high as 10.7%.

Single Tax rate Joint Tax rate
0 – $10,000 2.59% 0 – $20,000 2.59%
$10,000 – $25,000 2.88% $20,001 – $50,000 2.88%
$25,000 – $50,000 3.36% $50,001 – $100,000 3.36%
$50,000 – $150,001 4.24% $100,000 – $300,001 4.24%
$150,001 + 4.54% $300,001 + 4.54%

See also

  • List of power stations in Arizona
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