2024 Mesa Vacation Guide
Mesa is the third-largest city in Maricopa County, Arizona, and the US 40th largest city. Mesa is a Spanish word for “tabletop”. It describes a flat-topped, raised land named by the Mormon migrants, a diverse community and continual growth, who came to rebuild the Hohokam irrigation canals in 1878 and founded the city. The city was later incorporated in July 1883.
Just 15 km east of Phoenix, Mesa covers 128 square miles and it is considered to be the cultural hub of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Mesa enjoys a dynamic recreational, educational, and business environment for it has a variety of amenities including beautiful nearby parks, a variety of sports facilities that cater to athletes, old or young, highly rated golf courses for every skill level, etc.
Visitors are welcome to visit the beautifully created, gorgeous churches but only the true Mormons are allowed in the sanctuary area. Mesa has enormous galleries, performing art centers, shopping centers, entertainment spots, and historical sites for its visitors. The city takes pride in offering a large variety of schools for its city dwellers.
It is the nation’s fastest-growing suburban city in the US, but its residents exhibit significant economic diversity, in low-income areas. The mobile home park coexists with areas that feature expensive houses. The renowned airports of the city are Falcon Field Airport, William Gateway, and Phoenix Sky Harbor. Mesa is larger than Minneapolis, Miami, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta in terms of population.
Mesa AZ Fast Facts
- Location: Mesa is the third-largest city in Arizona and is located right next to Tempe, 15 miles southwest of Phoenix. The city is located at 33°24’40” North, and 111°44’47” West and spreads over a mesa or a plateau that stands 100 ft higher than Phoenix.
- Total area: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers a total area of 324.2 square km or 125.2 square miles. And 125 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is water. Thus the total area is 0.16% water.
- Population: Total population of the city is 447,845 with 146,643 households and 99,863 families residing in the city. The population density is 1224.4/square km.
- Housing Units: At an average population density of 1,405.7/square mile there are 175,701 housing units. Out of this 33.4% are children under 18 years of age, 52.7% are married couples, 10.6% are females with no husbands, and 31.9% are non-families. The average household size is 2.68 and the average family size is 3.20.
- Medium Household Income: The median income for a household in the city is $42,817 and that of a family is $35,892. Moreover, the median income of males is $35,960 versus $27,000 for females. The per capita income(total personal income divided by the total population) for the city is $19,601.Of the total population, 10.0 % of those under the age of 18 and 7.0% of those 65 and above are living below the poverty line.
- Climate: The average annual temperature is 84.5°F. The average annual precipitation is 8.29 inches in the months of May and July. The average temperature in the winter months is between (65-43) °F and the summer temperature varies between (104-81) °F approximately. Snowfall measuring 10 inches is seen in the month of Dec-Jan.
- Other facts: 49.5% of males and 50.5% of females cover an area of 125 square miles. The Median resident age is 32 years, the median household income is $42,817(2001) and the median house value is $122,100(2001).
Mesa is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities in Arizona with a population growing beyond 37 percent between 1990 and 2000. Mesa’s growth is due to the low costs of doing business, reasonable tax structure, skilled and well-educated workforce, low crime rate, superior schools, unequaled public services, great weather, friendly and comfortable neighborhoods, affordable housing, and excellent quality of life. The attractive lifestyle in Mesa called in more than 430,000 people to live in it. The city has a sophisticated infrastructure and highly professional local government. The City has strong administrative services. In addition, the city provides fire protection, parks and recreation, libraries, transportation, neighborhood outreach, operation of electricity, gas, water, wastewater, solid waste, aquatics, airports, golf courses, and a community center that serves a good standard of living.
Mesa Attractions
Mesa’s Art and cultural diversity provide a great cultural experience. The resources in the city with outstanding facilities, and engaging programs inspire an individual through art, history, and culture. Mesa is the cultural hub of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The cultural attractions of the city are the Hohokam Park and stadium, Arizona Temple, Mesa Historic Museum, Arizona Museum for youth, Mesa Southwest Museum, Stake court at Reed Park, Mesa amphitheater, and the Mesa Library.
Hohokam Stadium was built in January 1997 and can hold 12,632 people at one go. It is a spring training home to the Chicago Cubs and summer home to the Mesa Miners professional basketball team of the Golden Baseball League. The two famous municipal golf courses are Dobson Ranch and Riverview Golf Courses.
Mesa Historical Museum, Arizona for youth gives a vivid account of the city, its history, fine art, and many more. They also experiment with hands-on activities that encourage art appreciation. Also, the three annual exhibits of the Arizona Museum’s quality artwork educate and encourage creativity in its youth visitors. The Mesa Southwest Museum explores the rich and colorful history of Mesa, exhibiting things from dinosaurs to conquistadors.
Mesa has many public pools/aquatic complexes to enjoy a great holiday there with facilities like a sand volleyball court, picnic facilities, basketball court, barbeque grills, and many more to enjoy. They also offer banquet halls for parties and social gatherings at a very reasonable price.
At the Mesa Amphitheatre and Mesa Art Center, one can enjoy classical music, a spectrum of dance, dramatic performances, live concerts, and other family entertainment.
Recreation, Entertainment & Dining in Mesa
Mesa has a dynamic recreational environment. In Phoenix-Mesa one can enjoy a variety of amenities with 55 recreational parks, highly rated golf courses which are 28 in number, 13 public pools, and miles of horseback riding hiking, or biking. A variety of sports facilities also cater to athletes young and old. A diversity of special events and community festivals occur in parks and Mesa Amphitheatre. Every spectator can participate in Mesa’s ever-popular Chicago Cubs Spring Training baseball.
Mesa Amphitheatre is the valley’s unique and popular performance venue that showcases dance, concert, and dramatic performances. Here one can also enjoy the music of the Mesa Symphony Orchestra and Brad’s work as presented by the Southwest Shakespeare Company. The amphitheater offers high-profile advertising and signage opportunities at a variety of locations inside and outside the facility.
Mesa enjoys a wide range of recreational parks and swimming pools. Brim Hall Jr. High, Falcon Field Park, and Parkway to name a few. Among the famous recreational centers and sports complexes, the renowned ones are The Broadway Recreational Center, Gene Autry sports complexes, Jefferson Gym/Recreational Centers, Reed Park Stake Court, Washington Activity Center, and more.
Some of the important parks like Alta Mesa, Augusta Ranch, Dobson Ranch, Enid, Chelsea, Carriage Lane, and Falcon Field offer Basketball Courts, playgrounds, picnic facilities, First-come, first-serve Ramada, and Sand Volleyball Courts for its visitors. The Dobson Ranch golf course has excellent course condition and playability. Golf instruction is offered for players of all ages and abilities. The Pro Shop offers a full line of discounted professional golf equipment, and the on-site restaurant offers banquet facilities for the visitors. The Riverview Golf Course and Hohokam Stadium are also popular commercial facilities available in this region.
The city of Mesa is thriving and dynamic. The city inns, motels, restaurants, and resorts vary in amenities and provide cozy services to its customers. The city provides a chain of restaurants that offer a little bit of all flavors in their dish be it Mexican, Chinese, Italian or continental. Some of the best hotels in the town are Best Western Dobson Ranch Inn, Best Western Mesa Inn, Hampton Inn, etc.
Mesa Arts
Mesa Art Center bursts with performing art events. Performing live series at the Mesa Art Centre showcases world-class national and international professional touring artists, performing classical and pop music, a spectrum of dance and family entertainments throughout the year.
Mesa Contemporary Art is the exciting visual art exhibition space that showcases a permanent collection of curated and juried exhibitions by emerging and internationally recognized artists. The Art Studio offers a comprehensive program of the community art education classes, workshops, and lectures that enables adult and youth to develop their skills. The studio offers a varied range of programs for students like acting, Ceramics, Drawing, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Music, Photography, Sculpture, Painting, Printmaking and more. Extensive educational programs are organized by the organization for children and adults along with a wide variety of special events.
Mesa Affiliates is a local art company that organizes a variety of events for the community like classical music, Shakespeare productions, Community theatre, Classical ballets, theatre for youth and much more. Mesa Art Center hosts the region’s best professional performing arts organization attracting audiences from everywhere. The Art gallery and Art Ville of the Arizona Museum for Youth is an innovative and interactive art museum experience for children. They feature art and activities that introduce basic aesthetic principles to the children.