THE TEMPE LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Gila/Salt Intermediate Basins setting.
Tempe city has 40 square miles of land in Maricopa County. Its Census reference point is in Gila/Salt Intermediate Basins, within Sonoran Basin and Range.
Hot desert basins are separated by low mountain ranges. Palo verde, cacti and other drought-adapted plants distinguish the Sonoran setting from the Mojave region farther north.
Regional context: Sonoran Basin and Range ↗ · Classification at the Census reference point
Tempe and Maricopa County
Tempe is associated with Maricopa County in the Census boundary data. Start with the parcel’s tax bill to match the property to that jurisdiction, then confirm which government handles its land use.
Tempe by land and water
The Census records 0.21 square miles of water within Tempe, or 0.5% of its total area. It is 0.3 percentage points higher than the 0.3% recorded for Maricopa County. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Tempe city has 50 times the land area of nearby Guadalupe town (0.8 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.

