16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tucson, Ariz.: Western Skies and Competitive Home Prices
'Is Tucson in Arizona?' John Lennon asked Paul McCartney as they worked out a hometown for Jojo in 'The Beatles: Get Back' documentary. McCartney's answer: 'Yeah, it is, yeah — it's where they make 'High Chaparral.''
More than half a century later, Tucson's vintage TV-Western identity lingers in the public imagination, and to be fair, this is still the kind of place where you'll find working ranches, as many pickups as sedans, and citywide school closures during February's Rodeo Break.
But some things have changed. Since Jojo's day, the metro area population that has more than tripled, to about 1,080,000. Roughly 547,000 live in the city proper, although locals consider themselves rightful Tucsonans inside or outside the city limits. Today, Tucson is also the kind of place that boasts the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation in the United States, enough optical sciences expertise at the University of Arizona to service sone of the largest telescopes in the world — and so many local observatories, an official astronomy trail launched this year.
ARIZONA
SANTA CATALINA
MTS.
Phoenix
Tucson
SABINO
CANYON
CATALINA
FOOTHILLS
10
Rillito R.
Sun Link Streetcar
Santa Cruz R.
University of Arizona
Temple of Music and Art
Tucson
BARRIO
VIEJO
19
10
4 mileS
By The New York Times
Location: Pima County in southern Arizona, about 70 miles north of the Mexican border and 110 miles southeast of Phoenix
Population: 547,239 in the city and 1,080,000 in the metro area
Area: About 240 square miles in the city and 500 square miles in the metro area
Homeownership: 52 percent in the city and 65 percent in the metro area
The vibe: Aerospace hub meets outdoorsy college town with a distinct Mexican flavor.
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