Located just 20 miles from the neighboring metropolis of Phoenix, Mesa, Arizona is both one of the most popular bedroom communities in Maricopa County, and a city in its own right. Mesa is home to more than 463,000 people from all ethnic backgrounds, including Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, and Native American. Settlement in the area dates back thousands of years to the Hohohkam, whose impressive system of prehistoric canals have been incorporated into modern Mesa's water delivery system. Europeans from the First Mesa Company arrived in 1877 and founded the town as an agricultural community. Since then it has evolved into a joint agricultural and industrial community with a suburban feel.

With its wide-open desert geography, living in Mesa gives you room to breathe. The city itself covers more than 125 miles, meaning there's no need for dense urban development to make room for everyone. The high average temperatures and pervasive dryness of the desert have made Spanish-influenced home styles popular in Mesa. While some larger homes utilize two-storey floor plans, most are single-storey ranch styles. Cooling stucco walls, neutral colors, and tiled roofs are popular architectural features. Being located atop the mesa (that gives the city its name) also means that Mesa can offer better views than some of the other Phoenix suburbs.

Single-family detached homes are the most popular forms of housing in Mesa, with new housing developments adding to their numbers each year. In 2008, nearly 600 new homes were constructed. The average detached home in Mesa costs $312,252 while the average town house costs $185, 702. Average prices for condos range from $142,968 to $200,740 depending on the type of building, and renting the average apartment costs $845 per month. The total average value for housing in Mesa is $225,000, which is just below the average for the state of Arizona at $237,700.

As a bedroom community, the type of neighborhood that is most prevalent in the city of Mesa is the planned suburban development. Each development generally caters to people of a specific income bracket, with huge mansions for the wealthy and smaller ranch-style houses for the middle class. Among the most expensive of these are developments like Rancho de Arboleda and Desert Vista Estates. Downtown is less urban than a stand-alone city of the same size, as it is mostly low-rise. The east end of the city retains Mesa's original rural feel, as it is still home to some horse ranches and farms.

If Mesa Arizona zip codes sounds like your kind of place, please continue browsing ZipMesa.com to learn more about this incredible city!