Paradise Valley is a small,
prosperous town in Maricopa County Arizona. Although it encompasses only 15.44
square miles and has a population of about 14,300, Paradise Valley has eight
full-service resorts, which make it a premier tourist destination. It is the
most affluent community in the Phoenix metropolitan area and features excellent
golf courses, shopping and dining. Paradise Valley topography includes Mummy
Mountain at the town center, Camelback Mountain on the southern border and
Piestewa Peak on the western border.
In the early years of its modern
development, Paradise Valley was used for cattle grazing and other agricultural
uses. In the 1880s surveyors from the Rio Verde Canal Company first used the
Paradise Valley name, perhaps because of its palo verde trees and abundant
wildflowers. Only after World War II the area was divided into one- to five-acre
lots for homes. As nearby Phoenix and Scottsdale began to grow significantly,
local residents wanted to protect their unique environment, so a committee
collected signatures on a petition for incorporation. The town of Paradise
Valley was incorporated on May 24, 1961.
Paradise Valley’s zip code,
85253, is the most expensive in the state of Arizona. The median house has 9
rooms and a value of about $1,333,000. The median age of residents is 53.4, and
the median household income is about $173,500. The town motto is “there is a
reason we call this valley ‘paradise’”.