What population would Prescott/PV be too big? (Phoenix, Yuma: 2015, unemployment rate)

[Hschlick84]

Prescott 2015 Population
est. 39,843

Prescott Valley 2015 Population
est. 38,822

Both towns/small cities are growing, attracting retirees, Millennials from Phoenix and other areas wanting to live in a cheaper COL area. With that, the area will need to bring in new jobs and diversify the economy.

What population would Prescott/PV grow to be considered too big for your tastes?

In my opinion after 125k, the area starts to lose its small town appeal to people.

[Zo-Nee]

Already close to being too populated.

[k2rider]

Currently living in a city of 167K, I'd agree that once you get to 125K it's pretty much over as far as being any sort of small town. That being said, DENSITY is a big deal as well. The city I currently live in has a population density of 4700 per sq mile while Prescott only has 915 per sq mile. Unless things changed drastically, I can't see Prescott ever getting to that kind of density.

[JGMotorsport64]

The traffic is already pretty bad, the infastructure probably couldn't handle more than 275k as a metro.

At 215k id probably like Prescott less once it hits 250k.

[PVAZno1]

Our population growth will start to hit a wall, imho. Sure, we will always have those from areas that make out housing prices seem reasonable or retirees who have savings to spend, but, for the average Joe, COL (housing) is already preventing a lot of people from moving here that otherwise would and then you have to combine in the lack of decent paying jobs. I have helped many a buyer that wanted to move here, started looking, couldn't find housing they could afford and decided on another place to relocate to. As long as this is true - our growth will have a "throttle" on it...so to speak.

Also - not sure where those population statistics same from, but the "official" numbers that were released showed PV passing Prescott for the first time ever. It was the talk of the town when it broke in the paper.

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

Prescott 2015 Population
est. 39,843

Prescott Valley 2015 Population
est. 38,822

Both towns/small cities are growing, attracting retirees, Millennials from Phoenix and other areas wanting to live in a cheaper COL area. With that, the area will need to bring in new jobs and diversify the economy.

What population would Prescott/PV grow to be considered too big for your tastes?

In my opinion after 125k, the area starts to lose its small town appeal to people.

[keninaz]

Pick any weekend when it's hot in the Phoenix valley and there are too many people here.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by PVAZno1

Our population growth will start to hit a wall, imho. Sure, we will always have those from areas that make out housing prices seem reasonable or retirees who have savings to spend, but, for the average Joe, COL (housing) is already preventing a lot of people from moving here that otherwise would and then you have to combine in the lack of decent paying jobs. I have helped many a buyer that wanted to move here, started looking, couldn't find housing they could afford and decided on another place to relocate to. As long as this is true - our growth will have a "throttle" on it...so to speak.

Also - not sure where those population statistics same from, but the "official" numbers that were released showed PV passing Prescott for the first time ever. It was the talk of the town when it broke in the paper.

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

The biggest obstacle Prescott and PV have to overcome is NOT just being a town for retirees in order to attract a more diverse economy. Look at cities that are slightly larger than Prescott and PV, such as

via city-data

Yuma AZ, 93,400
Provo UT, 114,801
Greeley, CO 98,569
Fort Collins, CO 156,480

[agorski]

We've already got around 100K in the quad cities area if you count those outside of city limits.

Since the population is separated into separate towns, it's not quite as bad as if it were all in one city.

[jgustav]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

The biggest obstacle Prescott and PV have to overcome is NOT just being a town for retirees in order to attract a more diverse economy. Look at cities that are slightly larger than Prescott and PV, such as

via city-data

Yuma AZ, 93,400
Provo UT, 114,801
Greeley, CO 98,569
Fort Collins, CO 156,480

Provo UT has a large university - BYU as does Fort Collins - Colorado State U which would account for a lot of their population. BYU has around 30,000 students, CSU has 32,000 students. Greeley has Northern Colorado U with over 12,000 students. Embry-Riddle and Prescott College are very small schools in comparison having around 2,000 students combined.


Yuma has a lot of snowbirds from cold weather states that stay there for 6 months or so during fall and winter. Agriculture and the military are the two biggest contributors to the local economy there. The unemployment rate is one of the worst in the country.


If you are looking for some mid to large corporation to relocate to Prescott Valley, when Phoenix is 90 miles away, I wouldn't count on it. Housing is cheaper in Phoenix on average and the corporation would have a larger pool of skilled labor from other companies that would be available in Phoenix metro versus Prescott Valley.

[k2rider]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

The traffic is already pretty bad....

This ^^ is almost comical to me, a lifelong resident of SoCal. Even though I never lived or drove in the UGLY traffic north of Orange County, I've had my share down in San Diego County. I also go over to Phoenix to mountain bike an that traffic is worse than most of what I've dealt with in San Diego. Prescott is PURE HEAVEN when it comes to traffic in my opinion. I've also yet to experience all of the issues with slow senior citizen drivers that everybody complains about on here. You know you live in a great place when that appears to be the #1 gripe.