Economy of Arizona

The Economy of Arizona had a total gross state product $508 billion in 2023.^[1] The composition of the state's economy is moderately diverse; although health care, transportation and the government remain the largest sectors.

Arizona's per capita income was $61,652 in 2023, ranking 33rd in the U.S.^[2] The state had a median household income of $74,568, making it 19th in the country and just below the U.S. national mean.^[3]

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^[4]

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^[update], the state's unemployment rate was 5.4%.^[5]

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^[update] were:^[6]

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%.^[7] 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%

References

^ "GDP by State". GDP by State | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
^ Account, Economic (2024-03-29). "Personal Income by State". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Retrieved 2024-05-20.
^ Bureau, U.S. Census. "S1901: Income in the Past 12 Months". Explore Census Data. Retrieved 2024-05-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Arizona". Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ "Arizona Economy at a Glance". Bls.gov. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
^ "Arizona Republic 100: State's biggest employers". The Arizona Republic.
^ "Arizona Income Tax Rates for 2017". www.tax-rates.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2017.