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Maricopa County, AZ — Bars Saturation

How many bars exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 185 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Bars & taverns · Pubs & brewpubs (drinking-focused) · Cocktail & wine bars · Taprooms. Counted together because official statistics use one 722410 code.

Measured density: Range spans bands — 0.56× the U.S. rate (between 0.56× and 0.84× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 133 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 80 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Range spans the U.S. rate   Maricopa County bars — 56–84% of the U.S. rate

313 bars are counted in Maricopa County — 0.6 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 56% of the U.S. rate of 1.0.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 25% between 2015 and 2023 (197 → 246). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 85251 (Scottsdale), 85003 (Phoenix), 85007 (Phoenix) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 85142 (Queen Creek), 85301 (Glendale), 85212 (Mesa).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 373 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Maricopa County sits at 56% of the U.S. rate for bars. 80 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 56% and 84% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 85251 and 85003; the lowest measured density is in 85142 and 85301.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing bars and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Bars
313–579
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (133 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
0.6
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
1.0
per 10,000 present
County index
0.56×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
373
2023 — $177M annual payroll
Residents
4,583,743
132 ZIPs with data
Workers
1,999,220
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
4,673,096
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+5.1%
+227,681 people
Net migration 2024
+43,827
international +45,693, domestic −1,866
Jobs located here
2,224,322
LODES 2022, +6.5% since 2019

Maricopa County had an estimated 4,673,096 residents on July 1, 2024 — 5.1% more than in 2020 (+227,681). In the latest year it gained 57,471 people: births minus deaths +13,548, international migration +45,693, domestic migration −1,866. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

2,224,322 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+6.5% since 2019), and 2,029,026 employed residents lived there (+4.6% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
85387 Surprise
+113.5%
85396 Buckeye
+101.8%
85004 Phoenix
+73.2%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
85256 Scottsdale
−43.2%
85006 Phoenix
−19.5%
85374 Surprise
−14.5%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses
286
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$18.0M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$63K
gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more bars in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 25% since 2015

Number of bars in Maricopa County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

197
2015
230
2018
231
2020
234
2021
238
2022
246
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
85251 Scottsdale
418%
85003 Phoenix
396%
85007 Phoenix
395%
85016 Phoenix
272%
85390 Wickenburg
248%
85018 Phoenix
226%
85013 Phoenix
207%
85014 Phoenix
181%
85020 Phoenix
180%
85302 Glendale
160%
85310 Glendale
138%
85257 Scottsdale
136%
85234 Gilbert
135%
85306 Glendale
134%
85253 Paradise Valley
126%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
85142 Queen Creek
29%
85301 Glendale
39%
85212 Mesa
47%
85037 Phoenix
50%
85204 Mesa
54%
85382 Peoria
57%
85233 Gilbert
58%
85027 Phoenix
59%
85345 Peoria
59%
85260 Scottsdale
59%
85374 Surprise
62%
85202 Mesa
63%
85040 Phoenix
65%
85283 Tempe
67%
85254 Scottsdale
67%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few bars may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersBarsIndex
85004Phoenix Employment hub 12,40834,220 17 571%
85012Phoenix Employment hub 8,70436,543 7 257%
85034Phoenix Destination 4,85463,321 5 136%
85054Phoenix Employment hub 10,34623,688 0–2 —
85256Scottsdale Employment hub 3,50410,670 0–2 —
85284Tempe Employment hub 19,49246,184 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = bars per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersBars Per 10kIndexStatus
85004Phoenix 12,40834,220 17 5.8 571% Very high density
85251Scottsdale 40,78046,575 27 4.2 418% Very high density
85003Phoenix 10,8758,327 6 4.0 396% Very high density
85007Phoenix 13,5757,980 7 4.0 395% Very high density
85016Phoenix 37,07457,139 18 2.7 272% Very high density
85012Phoenix 8,70436,543 7 2.6 257% Very high density
85390Wickenburg 10,2983,342 3 2.5 248% High density
85018Phoenix 37,29721,900 11 2.3 226% High density
85013Phoenix 22,49012,620 6 2.1 207% High density
85014Phoenix 25,91114,079 6 1.8 181% High density
85020Phoenix 34,91618,360 8 1.8 180% High density
85302Glendale 40,6125,768 7 1.6 160% High density
85310Glendale 19,9643,308 3 1.4 138% Above average
85257Scottsdale 29,81213,226 5 1.4 136% Above average
85034Phoenix 4,85463,321 5 1.4 136% Above average
85234Gilbert 51,28315,149 8 1.4 135% Above average
85306Glendale 24,9119,327 4 1.4 134% Above average
85253Paradise Valley 17,90411,400 3 1.3 126% Above average
85226Chandler 42,29446,668 8 1.2 121% Above average
85282Tempe 53,62445,325 9 1.2 117% Above average
85268Fountain Hills 23,8494,952 3 1.1 113% Above average
85009Phoenix 52,06432,551 7 1.0 102% Above average
85201Mesa 51,40016,452 6 1.0 100% Below average
85032Phoenix 70,83918,582 8 1.0 99% Below average
85281Tempe 72,76295,380 12 1.0 99% Below average
85033Phoenix 57,5916,089 6 1.0 98% Below average
85024Phoenix 26,1998,939 3 1.0 97% Below average
85008Phoenix 59,71625,936 7 1.0 95% Below average
85031Phoenix 31,1916,897 3 0.9 86% Below average
85015Phoenix 41,4909,699 4 0.9 86% Below average
85225Chandler 72,29723,210 7 0.8 83% Below average
85044Phoenix 39,34717,205 4 0.8 83% Below average
85017Phoenix 46,12930,055 5 0.8 81% Below average
85296Gilbert 53,07616,591 5 0.8 81% Below average
85210Mesa 39,01521,638 4 0.8 80% Below average
85308Glendale 65,09523,481 6 0.8 77% Below average
85050Phoenix 33,11811,007 3 0.8 77% Below average
85254Scottsdale 45,55826,434 4 0.7 67% Below average
85283Tempe 47,45922,683 4 0.7 67% Below average
85040Phoenix 34,11754,447 4 0.7 65% Below average
85202Mesa 38,75016,729 3 0.6 63% Below average
85374Surprise 41,42013,597 3 0.6 62% Below average
85260Scottsdale 39,89654,537 4 0.6 59% Below average
85345Peoria 60,91812,700 4 0.6 59% Below average
85027Phoenix 39,48755,679 4 0.6 59% Below average
85233Gilbert 39,07723,842 3 0.6 58% Below average
85382Peoria 43,72916,958 3 0.6 57% Below average
85204Mesa 65,15516,824 4 0.5 54% Below average
85037Phoenix 54,6088,965 3 0.5 50% Below average
85212Mesa 55,28315,527 3 0.5 47% Far below average
85301Glendale 68,17816,191 3 0.4 39% Far below average
85142Queen Creek 93,70015,299 3 0.3 29% Far below average
85001Phoenix —2,247 0–2 — — Not published
85002Phoenix —227 0–2 — — Not published
85005Phoenix —776 0–2 — — Not published
85006Phoenix 21,90511,784 0–2 — — Not published
85010Phoenix —88 0–2 — — Not published
85011Phoenix —40 0–2 — — Not published
85019Phoenix 27,4294,365 0–2 — — Not published
85021Phoenix 39,82819,533 0–2 — — Not published
85022Phoenix 53,8117,717 0–2 — — Not published
85023Phoenix 35,03412,364 0–2 — — Not published
85026Phoenix 0382 0–2 — — Not published
85028Phoenix 18,7528,349 0–2 — — Not published
85029Phoenix 49,68324,853 0–2 — — Not published
85030Phoenix —17 0–2 — — Not published
85035Phoenix 53,4245,013 0–2 — — Not published
85036Phoenix —703 0–2 — — Not published
85038Phoenix —53 0–2 — — Not published
85041Phoenix 63,8626,826 0–2 — — Not published
85042Phoenix 45,9036,861 0–2 — — Not published
85043Phoenix 41,33158,925 0–2 — — Not published
85045Phoenix 7,600182 0–2 — — Not published
85046Phoenix —134 0–2 — — Not published
85048Phoenix 34,6645,417 0–2 — — Not published
85051Phoenix 45,7687,612 0–2 — — Not published
85053Phoenix 29,7739,403 0–2 — — Not published
85054Phoenix 10,34623,688 0–2 — — Not published
85060Phoenix —29 0–2 — — Not published
85063Phoenix —12 0–2 — — Not published
85064Phoenix —87 0–2 — — Not published
85066Phoenix —12 0–2 — — Not published
85067Phoenix —17 0–2 — — Not published
85068Phoenix —34 0–2 — — Not published
85069Phoenix —13 0–2 — — Not published
85070Phoenix —22 0–2 — — Not published
85071Phoenix —14 0–2 — — Not published
85072Phoenix —110 0–2 — — Not published
85075Phoenix —152 0–2 — — Not published
85076Phoenix —254 0–2 — — Not published
85079Phoenix —9 0–2 — — Not published
85080Phoenix —765 0–2 — — Not published
85082Phoenix —188 0–2 — — Not published
85083Phoenix 21,0223,166 0–2 — — Not published
85085Phoenix 31,45818,208 0–2 — — Not published
85086Phoenix 43,2707,357 0–2 — — Not published
85087New River 10,157843 0–2 — — Not published
85203Mesa 38,0357,037 0–2 — — Not published
85205Mesa 45,11614,316 0–2 — — Not published
85206Mesa 37,23523,612 0–2 — — Not published
85207Mesa 51,1785,005 0–2 — — Not published
85208Mesa 37,2252,914 0–2 — — Not published
85209Mesa 43,15011,648 0–2 — — Not published
85211Mesa —209 0–2 — — Not published
85213Mesa 36,8365,904 0–2 — — Not published
85214Mesa —113 0–2 — — Not published
85215Mesa 16,88812,413 0–2 — — Not published
85216Mesa —69 0–2 — — Not published
85224Chandler 47,96332,270 0–2 — — Not published
85236Higley 0901 0–2 — — Not published
85244Chandler —246 0–2 — — Not published
85246Chandler —191 0–2 — — Not published
85248Chandler 37,09520,548 0–2 — — Not published
85249Chandler 48,7466,387 0–2 — — Not published
85250Scottsdale 15,39412,601 0–2 — — Not published
85252Scottsdale —393 0–2 — — Not published
85255Scottsdale 45,34632,815 0–2 — — Not published
85256Scottsdale 3,50410,670 0–2 — — Not published
85258Scottsdale 25,54532,832 0–2 — — Not published
85259Scottsdale 21,6703,897 0–2 — — Not published
85261Scottsdale —60 0–2 — — Not published
85262Scottsdale 14,3293,785 0–2 — — Not published
85263Rio Verde 3,472326 0–2 — — Not published
85264Fort Mcdowell 1,261970 0–2 — — Not published
85266Scottsdale 12,5162,243 0–2 — — Not published
85267Scottsdale —41 0–2 — — Not published
85269Fountain Hills —23 0–2 — — Not published
85271Scottsdale —19 0–2 — — Not published
85274Mesa —89 0–2 — — Not published
85275Mesa —29 0–2 — — Not published
85277Mesa —121 0–2 — — Not published
85280Tempe —254 0–2 — — Not published
85284Tempe 19,49246,184 0–2 — — Not published
85285Tempe —1,652 0–2 — — Not published
85286Chandler 50,62130,358 0–2 — — Not published
85287Tempe —675 0–2 — — Not published
85288Tempe —5,949 0–2 — — Not published
85295Gilbert 56,74414,016 0–2 — — Not published
85297Gilbert 37,47512,659 0–2 — — Not published
85298Gilbert 44,1143,645 0–2 — — Not published
85299Gilbert —128 0–2 — — Not published
85303Glendale 33,6633,794 0–2 — — Not published
85304Glendale 29,8612,366 0–2 — — Not published
85305Glendale 18,04311,244 0–2 — — Not published
85307Glendale 14,2234,234 0–2 — — Not published
85309Luke Air Force Base 960708 0–2 — — Not published
85311Glendale —58 0–2 — — Not published
85312Glendale —63 0–2 — — Not published
85318Glendale —136 0–2 — — Not published
85320Aguila 45817 0–2 — — Not published
85322Arlington 476187 0–2 — — Not published
85323Avondale 47,04310,379 0–2 — — Not published
85326Buckeye 75,3599,519 0–2 — — Not published
85327Cave Creek —89 0–2 — — Not published
85329Cashion 2,252144 0–2 — — Not published
85331Cave Creek 31,9686,723 0–2 — — Not published
85335El Mirage 36,0883,265 0–2 — — Not published
85337Gila Bend 2,041712 0–2 — — Not published
85338Goodyear 67,45127,994 0–2 — — Not published
85339Laveen 54,6417,014 0–2 — — Not published
85340Litchfield Park 40,9196,613 0–2 — — Not published
85342Morristown 1,823213 0–2 — — Not published
85351Sun City 27,5926,313 0–2 — — Not published
85353Tolleson 49,12021,345 0–2 — — Not published
85354Tonopah 8,5312,543 0–2 — — Not published
85355Waddell 14,4601,453 0–2 — — Not published
85358Wickenburg —176 0–2 — — Not published
85361Wittmann 7,991376 0–2 — — Not published
85363Youngtown 7,0151,004 0–2 — — Not published
85372Sun City —169 0–2 — — Not published
85373Sun City 20,2541,256 0–2 — — Not published
85375Sun City West 27,6805,497 0–2 — — Not published
85376Sun City West —14 0–2 — — Not published
85377Carefree 3,4371,892 0–2 — — Not published
85378Surprise 9,7651,700 0–2 — — Not published
85379Surprise 51,0356,488 0–2 — — Not published
85380Peoria —5 0–2 — — Not published
85381Peoria 27,6509,520 0–2 — — Not published
85383Peoria 74,39010,358 0–2 — — Not published
85385Peoria —14 0–2 — — Not published
85387Surprise 22,442913 0–2 — — Not published
85388Surprise 35,3693,993 0–2 — — Not published
85392Avondale 39,0797,264 0–2 — — Not published
85395Goodyear 40,41414,896 0–2 — — Not published
85396Buckeye 42,1812,109 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Tempe

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Tempe retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Tempe retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Tempe retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Maricopa County and bars

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 722410 — drinking places (alcoholic beverages). Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 373 establishments and $177M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (1.01 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.