Chandler, Arizona

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The term "East Valley" emerged in the early 1980s, used by newspaper publisher Charles Wahlheim in the *Mesa Tribune*, *Chandler Arizonan*, and the *Tempe Daily News*. Wahlheim approached Chandler grocery-chain owner Eddie Basha to help create a business group as an answer to the powerful Phoenix 40. That group became the East Valley Partnership, an organization of business, education, and political leaders that continues to advocate for the East Valley and its cities. Chandler's growth has been dramatic: from a population of 29,173, it grew to 236,123 over a 30-year span ending in 2010. The East Valley experienced a population increase of 41 percent, going from 937,638 in 2000 to 1,324,922 in 2011, according to U.S. Census data. The 2011 median household income in the East Valley was reported at $64,659, up from $52,100 in 2000, and higher than Metropolitan Phoenix, the state of Arizona, and the entire United States.

In Their Own Story

In Chandler, Virginia-based Orbital ATK designs, tests, and manufactures space launch vehicles, including the Pegasus and Minotaur rockets. The company has about half of its workforce in the East Valley. The aerospace sector in the East Valley is a major economic driver, with the East Valley Aviation & Aerospace Alliance estimating it accounts for 35,000 high-paying jobs and generates $3.5 billion a year. Among the sector drivers in the East Valley are the Boeing Corporation, Orbital ATK, Honeywell Aerospace, and Able Aerospace Services. The cost of living in the East Valley is quite low for such a thriving area, with a composite score of 102 (US average = 100), compared to 109 of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 147 of Los Angeles, California.

Reader's Guide

Chandler is one of the cities in the East Valley, a region that is home to the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), which offers career and technical education courses to students in 10 East Valley school districts. The community college system serves the East Valley with colleges including Chandler-Gilbert Community College. The East Valley is also home to Arizona State University's main campus in Tempe and its Polytechnic Campus in East Mesa. The median sales price of a single family home in the East Valley is $205,850, higher than the median price in Metropolitan Phoenix, the West Valley, all of Arizona, and the United States.

Did You Know?

• Chandler grocery-chain owner Eddie Basha was asked by newspaper publisher Charles Wahlheim to help create the East Valley Partnership as an answer to the Phoenix 40.
• Chandler's population grew from 29,173 to 236,123 over a 30-year span ending in 2010.
• The East Valley experienced a population increase of 41 percent, going from 937,638 in 2000 to 1,324,922 in 2011.
• The 2011 median household income in the East Valley was $64,659, higher than Metropolitan Phoenix, the state of Arizona, and the entire United States.
• The East Valley Aviation & Aerospace Alliance estimates aerospace accounts for 35,000 high-paying jobs and generates $3.5 billion a year in the East Valley.