Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chandler is considered to be a part of the East Valley.

As of the 2020 census, the population of Chandler was 275,987, up from 236,123 at the 2010 census. Chandler is a commercial and tech hub for corporations like Intel, Northrop Grumman, Wells Fargo, PayPal and Boeing.

In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, a Canadian and the first veterinary surgeon in the Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa and studied irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres (73 km2) of land and began drawing up plans for a town-site on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The town-site office opened on May 16, 1912.

The original town-site was bounded by Galveston Street to the north, Frye Road to the south, Hartford Street to the west, and Hamilton Street to the east. By 1913, a town center was established, featuring the Hotel San Marcos, which also had the first grass golf course in the state. Chandler High School was established in 1914. Chandler was officially incorporated on February 16, 1920, after 186 residents petitioned the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to approve incorporation.[citation needed]

Most of Chandler's economy was sustained during the Great Depression (though the Depression was to blame for the cancellation of a second San Marcos hotel), but the cotton crash a few years later had a much deeper impact on the city's residents. A.J. Chandler lost his San Marcos hotel to creditors as a result. Later, 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.[citation needed]

By 1980, the population had grown to 30,000, and it has since paced the Phoenix metropolitan area's high rate of growth, with suburban residential areas and commercial use areas swallowing former agricultural plots. The population has nearly doubled in the last twenty years. Some of this growth were fueled by the establishment of manufacturing plants for communications and computing firms such as Microchip, Motorola and Intel.

According to the 2020 census, Chandler has a total area of 65.55 square miles (169.8 km2), of which 0.07 square miles (0.18 km2), or 0.11%, are listed as water. The center of the city, along Arizona State Route 87, is 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Downtown Phoenix.

Chandler is in proximity to/borders the San-Tan mountain range. The San-Tan mountains are in the jurisdiction of the Gila River Indian Community.

Chandler is divided into three parts: North Chandler, West Chandler and South Chandler, each being divided by the Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) and Loop 101 (Price Freeway).

At the time of the 2010 Census, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 8.3% of other races. 21.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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. Of all households 19.3% 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.

There were 101,229 housing units as of May 2016. The median income for a household in the city was $70,456, and the median income for a family was $81,720. Males had a median income of $44,578 versus $31,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,904. About 4.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Computer chip manufacturer Intel has two locations in Chandler. Other high-technology manufacturing firms have partnerships with Chandler, their operations employing approximately 25% of non-government workers in 2007.

Since 2003, more than 2,900 jobs and investments totalling $3 billion have been created along the Price and Santan freeways, in the Price Road Corridor. The 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m2) Chandler Fashion Center, opened in 2001.

Companies headquartered in Chandler include Keap, Microchip, and Rogers. Bashas' headquarters is in a county island surrounded by Chandler.

According to the City of Chandler Economic Development Division, leading employers in the city are:

Chandler holds an annual Ostrich Festival at Tumbleweed Park to commemorate when ostrich farms in the area produced plumes for women's hats during the 1910s.[citation needed]

Chandler also holds an annual ceremony to light a tree made from tumbleweeds; a ceremony founded in 1957 when Chandler sought an alternative way to decorate the city during the Christmas holidays.

Venues, galleries and museums include:

Several sites in Chandler are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the McCullough–Price House and the San Marcos Hotel.

The Chandler Public Library serves Chandler and the greater East Valley. The main library is in Downtown Chandler, with two branches elsewhere in the city: Sunset, Basha (shared with Basha High School), and Hamilton (shared with Hamilton High School).

Tumbleweed Park hosts the annual Ostrich Festival, the Fourth of July Fireworks Festival and the annual Day of Play. It features a recreational center with equipment suited for fitness.

Hamilton Aquatic Center is a shared-use aquatic facility, located within Hamilton High School's campus.

Veterans Oasis Park is located at the city's highest point, at 1,311 feet (400 m). It includes a wildlife preservation and designated horse and walking trails.

Chandler is represented by a mayor, a vice mayor and five city council members. The vice mayor is elected by the city council from among its members. The mayor, vice mayor and council members represent the entire city and are not elected from districts or wards.

Kevin Hartke was elected mayor in 2017.

The north central section of the city and the western "leg" of the city are within Arizona's 4th congressional district, served by Representative Greg Stanton, a Democrat. The rest of Chandler is within Arizona's 5th congressional district, served by Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican.

Chandler's western "leg" and a small, narrow portion of the adjacent northern part of the city are within Arizona's 18th Legislative District, served by Representatives Denise Epstein and Jennifer Jermaine, and Senator Sean Bowie, all Democrats. The rest of the city is in Arizona's 17th Legislative District, served by Representatives Jennifer Pawlik and Jeff Weninger, and Senator J. D. Mesnard, one Democrat and two Republicans.

Chandler is served by the Chandler Unified School District, Kyrene Elementary School District, Tempe Union High School District, Mesa Public Schools, and Gilbert Public Schools.[citation needed]

Catholic and charter schools include Basis Schools, Seton Catholic Preparatory, and Legacy Traditional Schools.

Post-secondary educational institutions located in Chandler include: The University of Arizona Chandler, International Baptist College, and the two-year Chandler-Gilbert Community College, which serves 13,000 students.

Chandler Municipal Airport is a two-runway general aviation facility. Stellar Airpark is a privately owned municipal airport open to the public.

Chandler is served by three limited access highways:

Chandler is served by two single-track branch lines of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Hospitals in Chandler include Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Banner Ocotillo Medical Center.