Cities › AZ
Phoenix
Mayor Kate Gallego · Democratic · in office since March 21, 2019
The Executive Summary
Mayor Kate Gallego (D) has led Phoenix since March 2019; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Phoenix ranks No. 2 of 21 big cities. On Gallego's watch, unemployment fell 5% → 3.8% across 2021–2025. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and Phoenix runs day-to-day through a city manager, so the record is shared — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 3.8% (2025) | +0.51σ · -5.63%/yr vs peers -4.09%/yr · 2021–2025 (5 pts) |
| Median household income $85,246 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | +0.42σ · +2.3%/yr vs peers +1.04%/yr · 2021–2024 (4 pts) |
| Poverty rate 12% (2024) | +0.98σ · -6.49%/yr vs peers -1.76%/yr · 2021–2024 (4 pts) |
| Government form | Council-manager |
Phoenix uses a council-manager government, so day-to-day administration runs through an unelected city manager. Read this as the city's record, which the mayor shares.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 2 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Poverty rate. Better than the typical big city. 14.9% → 12% across 2021–2024.
Unemployment. Better than the typical big city. 5% → 3.8% across 2021–2025.
Median household income. About the middle of the pack. $79,224 → $85,246 across 2021–2024.
How this is scored: 60% is where Phoenix stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Gallego's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Phoenix also runs day-to-day through an unelected city manager, so this record is shared, not the mayor's alone.
Phoenix sits in AZ, whose governor Katie Hobbs does not yet hold a ranked statewide record, so there is no state standing to quote beside this page. State outcomes would not be the mayor’s grade in any case — a city is not a state.