Livelier and younger than most Valley suburbs, Tempe is a compact city of about 190,000 people in the middle of the Phoenix area, and Arizona State University shapes almost everything about it. Students, young professionals and a big international community give it that feel. Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa are all about 8 miles away. Tempe Town Lake is the centerpiece, good for kayaking and paddleboarding, and the Mill Avenue district has the bars, restaurants and shops. Climb Hayden Butte (A Mountain) at sunrise, and head to Papago Park for Hole-in-the-Rock and the Desert Botanical Garden next door. ASU football games and spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium fill the calendar.
Housing costs are above average, and rentals stay in demand thanks to the university. Crime is near or a bit above the national average for a college city, mostly theft and car break-ins, and Mill Avenue gets rowdy late on weekends. The big factor is summer heat, often above 105 degrees, so save strenuous hikes for the early morning or winter.
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- Known as
- Home of Arizona State University; Tempe Town Lake; Mill Avenue college-town hub; Fiesta Bowl history (Sun Devil Stadium)
- Founded
- 1871 settled (Hayden's Ferry); 1894 incorporated as a town; 1910 renamed Tempe by early residents after the Vale of Tempe in Greece
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Chinese; Arabic; Vietnamese; Hindi and other South Asian languages (large student population)
- Airports
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), about 5 miles west, the closest major airport; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway (AZA), about 25 miles southeast; Scottsdale (SDL) and Chandler Municipal are general aviation only
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; counter service optional; rideshare drivers 15-20%
About this data
Population 190,571 and land area 39.94 sq mi from Census QuickFacts (Vintage 2025); median value and rent from ACS 2020-2024. Metro figure 5,228,938 is the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA figure given by the requester, shared with Phoenix. Tourism and calendar URLs were seen in search results but not load-tested. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event names and months (verify), hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, airport distances, crime and current sale price are approximate or general knowledge and not verified; lower confidence.
