Paradise Valley is a town in
Maricopa County
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States, and a suburb of
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, the state's largest city. It is Arizona's wealthiest
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. The town is known for its luxury golf courses, shopping, expensive real estate, and restaurant scene. According to the
2020 census, its population was 12,658.
Despite its relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise Valley is home to eight full-service resorts, making it one of Arizona's premier tourist destinations.
The town's name comes from the expansive area known as Paradise Valley that spreads from north of the
Phoenix Mountains
The Phoenix Mountains are a mountain range located in central Phoenix, Arizona. With the exception of Mummy Mountain, they are part of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. They serve as a municipal park and offer hiking, mountain biking and equestri ...
to
Cave Creek and
Carefree on the north and the
McDowell Mountains
The McDowell Mountain Range (Yavapai: Wi:kajasa) is located about twenty miles north-east of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and may be seen from most places throughout the city. The range is composed of miocene deposits left nearly five million years ...
to the east. Resident children attend schools in the
Scottsdale Unified School District
The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is a school district with its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The district serves most of Scottsdale, most of Paradise Valley, a portion of Phoenix, and a portion of Tempe.
Its 22 schools earnin ...
.
History
300px, Paradise Valley, looking east to Mummy Mountain
The town's history dates to a more
agrarian society
An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agriculture ...
. After the initial European settlement, Paradise Valley was first used for cattle grazing. In the 1880s, when the land was being surveyed so it could be developed into agricultural lots, the name "Paradise Valley" first came into use, given by surveyors from the
Rio Verde Canal Company and its manager at the time, Frank Conkey. The name may have been chosen due to the abundance of spring wildflowers and
palo verde trees.
[”Town of Paradise Valley History”, http://www.ci.paradise-valley.az.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/223, accessed 4/7/15] Mainly an agricultural area during the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, the area began to be settled after World War II, on large, lots for which it became known.
As the neighboring settlements of Phoenix and
Scottsdale began to grow and annex adjoining areas, the residents of what became Paradise Valley were concerned that the qualities they most valued would be lost if they were consumed by their larger neighbors. These residents formed the "Citizens Committee for the Incorporation of The Town of Paradise Valley, Arizona", which collected enough signatures to take to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors granted the petition, allowing the town of Paradise Valley to be incorporated on May 24, 1961.
Today, Paradise Valley is Phoenix's wealthiest suburb, known primarily for its many resorts and expensive real estate.
Geography
Paradise Valley is located at (33.531154, -111.942645).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.18%, are water.
The central terrain of Paradise Valley is dominated by
Mummy Mountain. Other landmarks include
Camelback Mountain
Camelback Mountain ( ood, Cew S-wegiom) is a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The English name is derived from its shape, which resembles the hump and head of a kneeling camel. The mountain, a prominent landmark of the Phoenix metro ...
on the southern border and the
Piestewa Peak
Piestewa Peak ( ; ood, Vainom Do'ag, formerly Squaw Peak), at is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third highest in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. It is located in the Piestewa Peak Recreation ...
mountainous area on the western border.
![Camelback Mountain 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Camelback_Mountain_2.jpg)
Several historical sites are within the town, including the Harold C. Price, Sr. House, McCune Mansion/Hormel Mansion, and Barry Goldwater Memorial Park.
Demographics
Paradise Valley's motto, coined by residents, is "There is a reason we call this valley 'paradise'."
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 13,664 people, 5,034 households, and 4,163 families resided in the town. The population density was . The 5,499 housing units averaged 354.8 per square mile (137.0/km
2). The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the town was 95.6% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.0% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. About 2.7% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 5,034 households, 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.1% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were not families; 13.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town, the population was distributed as 24.9% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 18.8% from 25 to 44, 35.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $150,228, and for a family was $164,811. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $52,302 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $81,290. About 1.9% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over. In 2012, the ''Forbes'' magazine named Paradise Valley's zip code, 85253, the 71st-most expensive in the United States. This ranking also makes it the most expensive in the state of Arizona.
Government
The mayor and six town council members are the elected representatives of the Town of Paradise Valley. The council is composed of six members who are elected to serve four-year staggered terms. In 2010, voters approved the direct election of mayor. Scott LeMarr became the first directly elected mayor in 2012. The council still selects its vice mayor from among its members. Jerry Bien-Willner, elected in 2018, is the current mayor. The chief of police is Pete Wingert.
In 2012, citizens gathered 500 signatures on a petition requesting the council reconsider the issue of direct election of mayor. The council voted in June 2012 to return the question of direct election of mayor to the people. Residents voted to keep the direct election of Mayor.
Paradise Valley is a part of
Congressional District 6, which has been represented by Republican Representative
David Schweikert
David S. Schweikert (; born March 3, 1962) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2023 and since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2011, representing ...
since the district's creation in 2011. Despite the town's conservative lean, at the state level it has been represented by three Democrats since 2020. A part of
Legislative District 28, it is represented by
Christine Marsh
Christine Porter Marsh is an American politician and public school teacher from Arizona. She was elected to the state senate in 2020. A Democrat, she was first elected to represent district District 28, and later District 4, after redistricting. ...
in the
State Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
and by
Kelli Butler
Kelli Butler is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 28 in 2016, until 2023. She is a member of the Maricopa County Community College District Governing Boar ...
and
Aaron Lieberman in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
.
Education
Most of Paradise Valley is within the
Scottsdale Unified School District
The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is a school district with its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The district serves most of Scottsdale, most of Paradise Valley, a portion of Phoenix, and a portion of Tempe.
Its 22 schools earnin ...
. A relatively small portion, however, is served by
Creighton Elementary School District and
Phoenix Union High School District
The Phoenix Union High School District is a high school-only school district in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of five high school-only districts in the Phoenix area.
Overview
The school district serves students within a area of P ...
.
Several
charter schools also are in the area, including nearby
Great Hearts Academies
Great Hearts Academies is a non-profit charter school management organization that operates a network of primary, middle, and high schools in the Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan area and in San Antonio, Ft. Worth, and Irving, Texas.
Great Hearts Ac ...
and
BASIS Schools, as well as private schools such as
Phoenix Country Day School
Phoenix Country Day School is a college-preparatory school located in Paradise Valley, Arizona, United States. It has an enrollment of 750 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and follows a liberal-arts curriculum.
The student-faculty ...
.
Economy
Top employers
According to Paradise Valley's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,
Town of Paradise Valley CAFR
/ref> the top employers in the town are:
Confusion with other Paradise Valley designations
The town is not to be confused with Paradise Valley Village, an official municipal designation, in northeast Phoenix. For instance, Paradise Valley Community College
Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) is a public community college in Phoenix, Arizona. A branch campus, PVCC at Black Mountain, opened in August 2009 in the far northern section of Scottsdale, Arizona to serve this rapidly growing area. I ...
, Paradise Valley High School
Paradise Valley High School (PVHS) is a high school located in Phoenix, Arizona and was the first of five high schools built in the Paradise Valley Unified School District. Paradise Valley High School opened in 1957. The school's athletic teams a ...
, Paradise Valley Mall
Paradise Valley Mall was a shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops ...
, Paradise Valley Golf Course, and the former Paradise Valley Hospital are all several miles north of the town, in Phoenix. The Paradise Valley Unified School District does not serve the town; its boundaries end a few miles north of the border.
Notable people
* Michael Bidwill, businessman, prosecutor, and football executive; he is the principal owner, chairman, and president of the Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
* Doug Ducey
Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
, politician and businessman, governor of Arizona
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
* Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
, U.S. senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee
* Brooks Lennon
Brooks Howard Lennon (born September 22, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and right-back for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United.
Club career
As a teenager, Lennon played with the Real Salt Lake yout ...
, professional soccer player for Atlanta United
Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.
Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...
* G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and convicted felon in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon admi ...
, Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
figure and Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
appointee
* Jay Grdina
John G. "Jay" Grdina (born October 11, 1967) is an American businessman and former pornographic actor. His family originates from Croatia. , businessman and former pornographic actor
* Bil Keane
William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic '' The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kea ...
, cartoonist, creator of ''The Family Circus
''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jef ...
''
* Kliff Kingsbury
Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously a collegiate football coach from 2008 to ...
, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
head coach
* Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...
, former Justice of the US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
* Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
, former competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals
* Dan Quayle
James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
, Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
(1989–1993), U.S. senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
(1981–1989), and representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
of Indiana's 4th congressional district
Indiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. From 2003 to 2013 the district was based primarily in the central part of the state, and consisted of all of Boone, Clinton, Hendricks, Morgan, ...
(1977–1981)
* William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...
, former Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
In popular culture
Paradise Valley is the setting of the television series ''The Secret World of Alex Mack
''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' is an American television series that ran from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, on Nickelodeon (part of the SNICK line-up). The series was co-created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch and was produced by Lynch ...
'' and the film '' Pump Up the Volume''.
See also
* List of historic properties in Paradise Valley, Arizona
This is a list of historic properties in Paradise Valley, Arizona, which includes a photographic gallery of some of the city's historic structures and monuments. Also, included is The Goldwater Crypt in the Memorial Garden on the grounds of the Ch ...
* Saint Barnabas on the Desert
References
*
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Phoenix metropolitan area
Towns in Maricopa County, Arizona
Populated places established in 1961
Populated places in the Sonoran Desert