Tempe, AZ population, income and ZIP codes

Tempe city is a mid-size city in Arizona, with 186,419 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #9 of 467 ranked by population — larger than 98% of them. The median age here is 29.9 years against 39.1 nationally, a distinctly younger profile, typical of places with students, military posts or a fast-growing family population. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Tempe city earn a median of $77,643 a year, 1.1% below the national figure of $78,538 and 22% above the $63,545 median for the 206 Arizona cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 16.2% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Tempe city is valued at $421,900, 39.1% above the national figure and 74% above the $242,700 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,623 a month, 15.4% above the national figure, or roughly $19,476 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 25.1% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 5.4×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 41.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, a renter-majority market, so rent figures matter more here than the home-value line. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

A median age of 29.9 means a large student or early-career population; income medians in places like this understate household resources, since many residents are supported from outside the address.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.