CHANDLER, Ariz. — With around 280,000 residents, Chandler is quickly becoming a popular destination for people and companies to call home.
“I moved here in the 1980s, and back then, you would actually see tumbleweeds and these big bullfrogs coming from the canal,” said Chandler resident and realtor Kalencia Sanders.
In Arizona’s fourth largest city, businesses from Intel, Wells Fargo, Dignity Health, and many others are setting up shop.
The business boom is bringing with it high-paying jobs and a diverse workforce. For Black residents, who look like Sanders, it's a place where they are thriving financially.
“They’re not only aware that the opportunities are here, but the culture is here too that is reminiscent of home,” said Sanders. “People are also being able to build generational wealth for their families,” she added.
Using numbers from the 2021 U.S. Census Neighborhood study, financial technology company SmartAsset looked at the American cities where Black Americans thrive financially.
The study looked at six data points across 133 cities for Black residents: education, income, poverty, labor participation, business ownership, and homeownership.
Chandler ranked 7th overall.
The study found overall, Black American households earned about $23,000 less than the national average.
“We know that the economic situation for Black Americans does vary from place to place,” said Ray Marek with SmartAsset.
The study found the top 25 cities in the study all had one thing in common - population sizes of less than 500,000 people.
“Meaning, smaller mid-sized cities are better for Black Americans financially,” said Marek.
In 2021, Chandler had a population of just under 280,000 residents. Black residents made up less than 5% of the population.
The report found Chandler had the highest percentage of Black residents with bachelor’s degrees.
Seventy-five percent of its Black residents are employed, placing 8th.
Black households in Chandler have a median income of nearly $87,000 in the top 10.
“Having Intel here, with this hub, we knew when we brought it here that it would open doors all over the world for Chandler,” said Councilwoman Christine Ellis.
Ellis, who has seen the changes from when she and her husband arrived from Barbados decades ago said the previous city leaders and councilmembers laid the groundwork for what the city has become today.
Ellis, and Councilman O.D. Harris are the first two Black council members to serve together in the city's history. They're the second, and third black councilmembers in the city's history.
They credit the city’s strategic map for its growth. It's a blueprint for how the city will continue to grow and operate in the future.
“It’s easier to see where you fit here. Instead of other cities where you’re trying to figure out where I should put my business or live,” said Harris.
“We know where everything is going be," said Ellis.
“We have about 3% of our land unaccounted for. We have a section of the city called the price corridor. We know that’s where we want businesses and not housing,” Ellis added.
The report also pointed out the city’s need for more Black-owned businesses.
And like every city in the Valley right now, more affordable housing is needed.
"We have to be smarter when it comes to housing, especially affordable housing. Because the companies are coming, they're not going anywhere and people are coming too.”
The lack of affordable housing in Chandler is one thing the Atkins family knows firsthand.
A family of four with two daughters has called Chandler home since moving from Los Angeles in 2012.
Now looking to buy their first home, they know they may have to find an address outside Chandler to secure their American dream.
"We would love to be in Chandler. We love the city. It was our first city after we moved. Our daughters were born in Chandler. We would love to be there, but the prices are a little bit out of our range," the family said
The family said schools, infrastructure, family-friendly events and amenities attracted them to the city.
They vow to return one day, but they won’t be the only ones looking to call Chandler home in the future.
City leaders said other cities across Arizona should be taking notice of what’s happening and why it's working.
"We do it so well that other cities should be paying attention to what we're doing," said Ellis.
Chandler was the lone Arizona city to place in the top 25 in the study. Tucson ranked 86th, Glendale 50th, and Phoenix 41st.
The rankings focused on economic data and did not factor in social climate or other racial inequities.
For more on the study, visit the SmartAsset website.
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