Located in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, Paradise Valley is a suburb of Phoenix, AZ area. It is home to about 200,000 people. It is the wealthiest municipality in the state of Arizona. Luxurious golf courses, retail, real estate, and a vibrant restaurant scene are among the town’s many attractions. According to the 2010 census, the town has a total population of 12,820 people. The city of Paradise Valley, despite its tiny size and population when compared to neighboring municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan region, is home to eight full-service resorts, making it one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions. It is also noted for having some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
Paradise Valley is surrounded by the natural splendor of the Mummy Mountains, Camelback Mountains, and Piestewa Peak, making it the ideal area to experience the great outdoors in Arizona. Single-family homes in the southwest style or modern condominiums are available for purchase. Paradise Valley is notable for having a unique government structure comprised entirely of volunteers who oversee a responsive government. The Mayor, the City Council, the Municipal Court Judges, and the other appointed members are not compensated for their services to the community.
According to legend, the town’s name comes from the vast area known as Paradise Valley, which stretches from north of the Phoenix Mountains north to Cave Creek & Carefree on the north and east to the McDowell Mountains on the east. Contrary to popular belief, the town is not to be confused with Paradise Valley Village, an established municipal entity in northeast Phoenix. Examples include Paradise Valley Community College, Paradise Valley High School, Paradise Valley Hospital, Paradise Valley Mall, and Paradise Valley Golf Course, all of which are located several miles north of the town, in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The town is not served by the Paradise Valley Unified School District, whose boundaries finish a few miles north of the town’s northern border.
After the initial European colonization, Paradise Valley was first used for cattle grazing before being transformed into a tourist destination. In the 1880s, when the land was being surveyed so it could be developed into agricultural lots, the name “Paradise Valley” first came into use, being given by surveyors from the Rio Verde Canal Company and its manager at the time, Frank Conkey. According to the official town website, this name may have been chosen because of the abundance of spring wildflowers and palo verde trees that can be found throughout the area. While the area was predominantly an agricultural area during the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, the area began to see a significant increase in settlement following World War II, particularly on the big one to five acre lots for which it became famous.