Population:

15th largest U.S. State by population, with 6,595,778 people (2009 estimate).
6th largest state in the country by area, at 113,998 square miles.

Largest city: Phoenix

Median income:$50,958 (2008 estimate)

Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 12.7 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 0 inches per year in Phoenix; 100 inches per year in Flagstaff
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Phoenix:
January, 67/45; July, 107/81

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 increased in Arizona over the prior year. There was a total of 163,210 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 16 households, which is far greater the average in the United States as a whole, and a little over six percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 39 percent increase over 2008 and a 323 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 116,100 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Arizona, compared to about 105,500 sold in 2007.

Economy:
Arizona's biggest natural resource is copper. It is the national leader in copper production, and accounts for more than 60 percent of American copper output. The state government is the largest employer in Arizona, followed by Wal-Mart. The leading agricultural sectors are cattle and dairy, followed by cotton and assorted vegetable crops. Recently, low corporate taxes have led to a boom in technology and manufacturing, with many companies migrating over from neighboring California. Tourism is also a major industry in Arizona, thanks in part to more than two-dozen national parks.

Noteworthy:
Arizona is home to the Grand Canyon as well as several of the nation's largest Indian reservations.