Located on the western end of the Phoenix valley, Surprise, Arizona, is the home of Major League Baseball spring training venues, museums and theaters. Family-oriented neighborhoods are being developed throughout the area.
Surprise, surprise! Surprise, Ariz., is a city that was once only one square mile and had less than a thousand residents. Now, it’s one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, and it offers many employment opportunities. There are many opportunities for Surprise employment, so try to take advantage of them as soon as you can.
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| Population 30,848 | Median Age 46.1 yrs | Household Size: 2.46 |
| Avg Home Value: $128,300 | July High: 107.2°F | January Low: 40.7°F |
Surprise Employment
Arizona is hot, very hot. Its monthly average temperature is 72.6 degrees Fahrenheit and its average high reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The hottest temperature ever recorded was a sultry 128 degrees Fahrenheit in 1994. If you are planning on moving there, be prepared to stay warm.
One of Arizona’s hottest cities is Surprise, not only in terms of temperature, but also in terms of employment. Its unemployment rate is only 2.6 percent, and there is a multitude of job and career opportunities. There are menial, low-paying jobs, like civil jobs, fast-food jobs, and factory jobs, and there are skilled, high-paying career-oriented opportunities, like office management, sales, and careers in financial-, mechanic-, and physician-related fields.
Surprise, Ariz., is a city that is over 1,000 feet in elevation. Its land area is almost 70 square miles, and its population is close to 100,000 people. Median age is almost 40 years, the median income almost $45,000, and the median property value almost $150,000. So, based on all of these statistics, you may enjoy your life in Surprise if you decide to move there.
The city used to be only one square mile and was a sleepy farming community. It wanted to expand its horizons, so it successfully wooed both the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals to have their spring training teams play there. The city raised over $32 million to pay for a $48.3 million spring training practice facility and stadium in 2003. The 10,500 capacity stadium is part of a 200-acre recreation campus that is home to a minor-league baseball team, a library, and a gigantic park that includes a lake and a playground. These attractions, along with future plans for capital expansion, will create thousands of jobs for Surprise residents and other workers. Along with the population, city staff has tripled from 96 in 1996 to more than 420 in 2004. The Fire Department added two new fire engines and 17 positions, while the Police Department added more than 10 employees.
When Homer C. Ludden, a postal worker and former Arizona congressman, came to Surprise in 1938, it was only home to a gas station and a couple of houses. A Glendale real estate developer and state legislator, he subdivided the rustic and rural one-square-mile tract into low-cost home sites for the agricultural workers who lived there, naming it after his Nebraska hometown. Now, Ludden’s self-named city is one of America’s fastest growing cities.
Surprise is surrounded by one of Arizona’s largest mountain ranges and the Sonoran Desert, and is only about half an hour from the heart of one of the state’s most popular cities, Phoenix. Due to its scenic background and proximity to downtown Phoenix, Surprise is evolving into a well-thought-out city with a vision for the future. Even though its capital projects are flourishing, its sales tax is among the lowest in Arizona. This means that its booming development and low taxes will lead to a large amount of Surprise employment.
There is a large market for jobs in Surprise, Ariz., and if you are looking for employment there, don’t be surprised if you find it. The city, like the state, is extremely hot, but don’t let that deter you from trying to find Surprise employment.
Jim Grady
A REALTOR® is a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®