Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of Peoria was 190,985, up from 154,065 in 2010. It is the sixth-largest city in Arizona in land area and the ninth-largest in population. It was named after Peoria, Illinois. The word peoria is a corruption of the Miami-Illinois word for “prairie fire”. It is the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, who share the Peoria Sports Complex.
Geography
Peoria is in northern Maricopa County, with the city limits extending north into Yavapai County. The city is bordered to the east by Phoenix, to the southeast and south by Glendale, to the southwest by Youngtown and unincorporated Sun City, and to the west by Surprise. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 179.2 square miles (464 km2), of which 176.1 square miles (456 km2) are land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), or 1.77%, are water. The water area is due to Lake Pleasant, a reservoir on the Agua Fria River in the northern part of the city.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 108,364 people, 39,184 households, and 29,309 families residing in the city. The population density was 784.0 inhabitants per square mile (302.7/km2). There were 42,573 housing units at an average density of 308.0 per square mile (118.9/km2).