Chandler is noted for its annual Ostrich Festival.

History

In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the first veterinary surgeon in Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa, studying irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres of land, and began drawing up plans for a townsite on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The townsite office opened on May 17, 1912, the same year that Chandler High School was established. By 1913, a town center had become established, featuring the luxurious Hotel San Marcos, the first golf resort in the state.

Initially, agriculture was the primary business in Chandler, based on cotton, corn, and alfalfa. During the 1910s, there were ostrich farms in the area, catering to the demand for plumes used in women's hats of the era. This demand ebbed with the increasing popularity of the automobile, but the legacy of the ostrich farms would be commemorated by the Ostrich Festival.

While Chandler stagnated through the Great Depression, the founding of Williams Air Force Base in 1941 led to a small surge in population, but Chandler still only held 3,800 people by 1950. By 1980, it had grown to 30,000, and it has since paced the Phoenix metropolitan area's high rate of growth, with vast suburban residential areas swallowing former agricultural plots. Some of this growth was fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Motorola and Intel, but despite the inclusion of many large businesses, Chandler is often arguably considered a bedroom community for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Geography

Chandler is located at 33'17'52" North, 111'51'49" West (33.297756, -111.863522)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 150.2 km? (58.0 mi?). 149.9 km? (57.9 mi?) of it is land and 0.3 km? (0.1 mi?) of it is water. The total area is 0.17% water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 176,581 people, 62,377 households, and 45,410 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,177.7/km? (3,050.5/mi?). There were 66,592 housing units at an average density of 444.1/km? (1,150.4/mi?). The racial makeup of the city was 77.19% White, 3.48% Black or African American, 1.20% Native American, 4.22% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 10.76% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 20.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Following the 2000 census, Chandler has remained one of the fastest growing cities in America, reaching population growth above 20% since this time. Growth is expected to subside within the next ten years due to fixed borders with Pinal county and the Salt River Indian Reservation to the south, Mesa and Tempe to the north, Phoenix to the west, and Gilbert to the northeast.

There were 62,377 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,416, and the median income for a family was $62,720. Males had a median income of $44,578 versus $31,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,904. 6.6% of the population and 4.6% of families were below the poverty line. 7.7% of those under the age of 18 and 8.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.