West Side Surpasses East Valley In Growth...

West side surpasses East Valley in growth from The Arizona Republic reports that the West Valley clearly has overtaken the eastern part of Maricopa County as the supergrowth region of the Valley, mid-decade census figures show. Growth in the eastern suburbs of Phoenix was far from anemic, but a greater number of people flocked to west-side communities at a pace that pushed the area's population 50 percent higher in just 5 1/2 years. East-side communities added nearly 215,000 people since 2000, but in the West Valley, where the total population is only half as large, cities added 218,000. In Phoenix, 1,475,834 residents were counted, an increase of about 155,000, or nearly 12 percent, from 2000. On the county level, the growth of more than 628,000 to a total of 3,700,516 was about as expected, Deputy Budget Director Christopher Bradley said. The 20.5 percent growth rate is evidence of a strong economy, Bradley said, but strains the county to provide more services.












http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0628census-mag0628.html