Phoenix, Arizona: the business and industrial center of the Valley of the Sun. For many, the name Phoenix is especially appropriate given that the thriving city that has risen from the ashes of the baking sand in the desolate Sonoran desert. This sunny, bright city welcomes both new business investors and job seekers with open arms because you can never have enough of the former, and for these ventures to be successful they need to draw upon a large pool of the latter. So if you're thinking of opening a business, or you are looking for a new job, Phoenix, Arizona may very well be the city of opportunity for you.

Over 1, 567,900 people of all races, creeds and income brackets call Phoenix home, yet only about 8.4% of them are unemployed (which is slightly above the Arizona average). The vast majority of Phoenix residents work in the city, with only a small percentage (about 7.3%) traveling to nearby cities like Scottsdale or Tempe. This is because commuting usually works the other way around, with workers flocking into Phoenix every morning from the suburbs and leaving again after quitting time. Because of this trend, the cost of living in Phoenix is only 94.4, less than the US average and significantly less than ritzy suburbs like Scottsdale.

Phoenix's economy is based upon a wide range of endeavors, from manufacturing to medical care rather than on one industry. This helps to keep it from collapsing when a particular industry comes upon hard times. If any industries contribute more than the others, it is manufacturing and tourism. Tourism is fueled by the city's weather, which is consistently hot and clear and attracts more than 10 million visitors annually. The city's location at the confluence of so many roads and rail lines has made it the ideal city for manufacturing. Factories in Phoenix turn out everything from airplane parts to Native American souvenirs.

While being the capitol of Arizona naturally makes the state government the biggest employer in the city, the next largest employers are all over the map. They include national retail giant, Wal-Mart, medical insurance and care provider, Banner Health Systems, high-technology developer, Honeywell, the Wells-Fargo bank, and the Arizona State University.

If you are interested in learning more about what Phoenix Arizona zip codes have to offer, please continue browsing ZipCodesPhoenix.com!