Phoenix is the capital of the state of Arizona in the Southwestern United States. It is Arizona's largest city and the Phoenix metropolitan area is the largest metro area in the state, with well over half of the total state population. Phoenix is located in the center of the state, 118 miles (188 km) northwest of Tucson. It is the county seat of Maricopa County. It was incorporated as a city on February 25, 1881 and is called Hoozdo, or "the place is hot", in the Navajo language and Fiinigis in the Western Apache language.

Phoenix is the sixth-largest city in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest estimates. The 2000 U.S. Census reported the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as the fourteenth-largest in the U.S., with a population of 3,251,876. The city's MSA grew to an estimated 3,790,000 by 2004. Between 1990 and 2000, the metropolitan area grew by 34 percent, making it the eighth fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S.

Phoenix is the largest capital city in the United States, with a greater population than any other state capital or Washington, D.C., the national capital. Only the state capitals Juneau, Alaska and Oklahoma City are larger in area than Phoenix.

Phoenix natives and residents are referred to as Phoenicians.