Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Chandler is one of the major suburbs of Phoenix. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 176,582. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 234,939.[1] Chandler is an example of modern urban sprawl (its population boomed from a 1980 figure of 30,000 to a 2007 figure of over 240,000[1]). The city contains a large amount of modest tract home developments. Computer chip manufacturer Intel has a major presence in Chandler with four locations within the city. [2] Other technology firms also have operations within the city. In 2001, a 1.3 million square-foot shopping mall, the Chandler Fashion Center, opened in Chandler.
History
In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon in Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa, studying irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land, and began drawing up plans for a townsite on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The townsite office opened on May 17, 1912, the same year that Chandler High School was established. By 1913, a town center had become established, featuring the luxurious Hotel San Marcos, the first golf resort in the state.
Chandler mostly sustained the Great Depression (a second San Marcos hotel was canceled due to the Depression however), but the cotton crash a few years later had a much deeper impact on the city's residents. Later, the founding of Williams Air Force Base in 1941 led to a small surge in population, but Chandler still only held 3,800 people by 1950. By 1980, it had grown to 30,000, and it has since paced the Phoenix metropolitan area's high rate of growth, with vast suburban residential areas swallowing former agricultural plots. Some of this growth was fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Motorola and Intel, but despite the inclusion of many large businesses, Chandler is often considered a bedroom community for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Geography
Chandler is located at 
33°18′12″N, 111°50′29″W (33.303237, -111.841328)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 150.2 km² (58.0 mi²). 149.9 km² (57.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water.
Chandler has reached its physical limits save for some remaining county islands and cannot expand outward anymore due to being bound in by the Gila River Indian Community, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Phoenix.
Demographics
City of Chandler
Population by year[2] |
| 1930 |
1,378 |
| 1940 |
1,239 |
| 1950 |
3,799 |
| 1960 |
9,531 |
| 1970 |
13,763 |
| 1980 |
29,673 |
| 1990 |
89,862 |
| 2000 |
176,581 |
| 2006 |
240,595 |
| 2007 |
247,097 |
As of the
censusGR2 of 2000, there were 176,581 people, 62,377 households, and 45,410 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,177.7/km² (3,050.5/mi²). There were 66,592 housing units at an average density of 444.1/km² (1,150.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.19%
White, 3.48%
Black or
African American, 1.20%
Native American, 4.22%
Asian, 0.14%
Pacific Islander, 10.76% from
other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 20.99% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. Following the 2000 census, Chandler has remained one of the fastest growing cities in America, reaching population growth above 20% since this time. Growth is expected to subside within the next ten years due to fixed borders with
Pinal County and the
Gila River Indian Reservation [3] to the south,
Mesa and
Tempe to the north, Phoenix to the west, and
Gilbert to the northeast.
There were 62,377 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $58,416, and the median income for a family was $62,720. Males had a median income of $44,578 versus $31,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,904. About 4.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
Elected officials
Chandler residents are represented by a mayor, a vice mayor and council members. The vice mayor is elected by the city council from among its members. The mayor, vice mayor and council members represent the entire city and are not elected from districts or wards.
Mayor: Boyd Dunn
Vice Mayor: Lowell Huggins
Council Members
- Bob Caccamo
- Trinity Donovan
- Matt Orlando
- Martin Sepulvida
- Jeff Weninger
Culture
Chandler is noted for its annual Ostrich Festival. Initially, agriculture was the primary business in Chandler, based on cotton, corn, and alfalfa. During the 1910s, there were ostrich farms in the area, catering to the demand for plumes used in women's hats of the era. This demand ebbed with the increasing popularity of the automobile, but the legacy of the ostrich farms would be commemorated by the Ostrich Festival. The Chandler Center for the Arts, a 1500-seat regional performing arts venue, and the Arizona Railway Museum are both located downtown.
Education
Elementary and secondary
Most of Chandler is served by the Chandler Unified School District.
Chandler west of Loop 101 is served by the Kyrene Elementary School District and the Tempe Union High School District, and north of Warner Road by Mesa Public Schools. The San Vincente neighborhood in Chandler is served by Gilbert Public Schools.
The USD of Chandler is served by three public high schools: Chandler High School, Hamilton High School, and Basha High School, with Perry High School coming soon.
Education alternatives include charter, Christian schools, example, Valley Christian High School, parochial example, Seton High School, magnet schools, as well as "traditional" academies.
Post-secondary
The two-year Chandler-Gilbert Community College, serving 13,000 students, is located in the east of the city near the Gilbert border. Private educational institituions Western International University and Apollo Group subsidiary University of Phoenix have locations here. Arizona State University is located 14 miles (23 km) from downtown in Tempe.
Chandler Public Library
The Chandler Public Library (CPL) serves Chandler and the greater Phoenix East Valley. The main branch is located in downtown Chandler, with three additional branches located throughout the city: Sunset, Basha High School, and Hamilton High School. Basha and Hamilton branches are shared-use facilities located on high school campuses.
As part of a family literacy project to encourage literacy and library use among families who live in public housing, the Chandler Public Library visited three public housing locations to offer a four-week series of programs at each. [4]
Transportation
Addressing
Most incorporated portions of Chandler, along with other East Valley cities Gilbert, Mesa, and Tempe have their own addressing system distinct from Phoenix and greater Maricopa County. The north-south meridian is Arizona Avenue, also known as Arizona State Route 87. Commonwealth Avenue, two blocks south of Chandler Boulevard is the east-west baseline. With the significant exception of the stretch of the city from Chandler Boulevard to Ray Road, address numbers follow in mile-long increments of 1000 along the grid. Modern remnants of county addressing from the city's rural agrarian days can be found in some neighborhood street names (90th Place, 132nd Street) and county islands surrounded by the city proper.
Airports
Chandler Municipal Airport is a two-runway general aviation facility located in the heart of the city south of Loop 202. Memorial Airfield in the Gila River Indian Community may serve the city in the future. The city is jockeying for membership in the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority, several miles to the east, which as of 2007 only offers limited service to Chicago and Las Vegas, Nevada. Most area residents continue to use Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 20 miles (30 km) from downtown Chandler.
City bus
Chandler has very limited bus service compared with other Valley Metro cities of similar size. Most local routes dead end a few miles from the city or have further limited service within its borders. Currently, two express bus routes leave from the city near downtown, and a new park and ride facility was recently completed further south. Faced with increasing congestion, the land-locked city is pursuing transportation alternatives including enhancement of the local bus system.
Freeways
Chandler is served by three limited access highways:
- Arizona State Route 202, the San Tan Freeway, completed through the city in 2006, cuts through the midsection of the city along the Pecos Rd alignment.
- Arizona State Route 101, the Price Freeway, was completed in 2001, dividing West Chandler from the rest of the city. A majority of the city's employment, over 10,000 people as of 2007[3], are along the city's Price Road Corridor. Air Products' industrial pipelines located there are unique to the metropolitan area. South of Pecos, the freeway borders the Gila River Indian Community.
- Interstate 10 is the city's westernmost border. On the other side is located the Phoenix neighborhood of Ahwatukee.
Railroads
Heavy rail
Chandler is served by two single-track branch lines of the Union Pacific Railroad. One generally traverses the Kyrene Road alignment and currently dead-ends at the Lone Butte Industrial Park. The other runs east of Arizona Avenue and dead-ends near the location of the former World War II company town of Goodyear. Commuter rail service on these lines is under study as of 2007.
Light rail
No light rail lines have been approved in the city, although high-capacity corridors including light rail have been identified in other regional and local plans. City officials joined the regional light rail authority, Valley Metro Rail, in 2007, expecting service perhaps in 2020. The initial route through the city will most likely be the Tempe South light rail line on Rural Road.
Radio and television licenses
Chandler has only one radio license: KMLE.
