Goodyear History

Visitors are often curious if the town name is linked to the tire company of the same name. The answer is yes, but it isn’t due to the tires or their rubber.

Cotton was a major crop for the area, and Goodyear needed it for vehicle tire cords The company bought a large farm in 1917. The 16,000-acre farm became the most dominant presence in the area, and the growing town took its name.

Later, during World War II, Goodyear Aircraft had a plane assembly plant here. There was also a large airfield. Both of these operations were abandoned after the war. The city had grown up around it.

There were 151 homes and 250 apartments when the city was incorporated in 1946. Some of those were Wingfoot Houses offering only 225 square feet of space. These were moved to Goodyear from a factory. Once on the site, the wings were pulled out of an 8-foot wide box to create the bedrooms.

With the economic boom over for the area, it settled back into a more leisurely way of life. Its proximity to the growing Phoenix metro area eventually began to boost its economy once again. The population of 3,137 in 1980 slowly grew to 18,911 in 2000.

The city was named All-America City by the National Civic League in 2008. In 2009, the town was able to open Goodyear Park as a hub for MLB spring training. The town benefited from the increase in visitors each spring.

In 2010, the small town was now 65,275 people and more than 6,700 households. The city was poised for serious growth. Estella, the largest planned neighborhood in Goodyear, is home to about 10,000 on 20,000 acres. PebbleCreek is a large 55+ community.

Goodyear Living

Over the next decade, the town began to be recognized for its standard of living and economic growth. Recognizing the standard of living and other positive qualities, Money Magazine put Goodyear on its 25 Best Places to Live list in 2019.

Goodyear was named the Best City for Business in 2020 by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. It was recognized as the wealthiest city in the West Valley in 2015 by Arizona Central. In 2015, it was recognized in a NerdWallet study as a good place for veterans due to its low unemployment rate and standard of living.

By the 2020 Census, the population was recorded at 95,294 with more than 27,000 households.

Goodyear commuters need about 30 minutes to get to their jobs at big area companies such as Nike, Lockheed Martin, UPS, and Microsoft.

Amazon Warehouse and Macy’s Distribution Center account for many jobs in Goodyear. Other Goodyear employers include McLane Southwest, Subzero Freezer Co, and two large hospitals.

The town is known for golf. Local courses can be found at Eagle’s Nest, Wigam Resort, Estrella, Tuscany Falls, and Palm Valley.

Baseball takes over every February. The Cactus League home teams are the Cleveland Guardians and the Cincinnati Reds. However it’s possible to see 13 more pro baseball teams just by attending seasonal games at Goodyear Park in March and early April.

Scenic Destinations Around

Arizona’s most scenic spots are close enough for a day trip when you live in or visit Goodyear. You can stay close by and explore Estrella Mountain Regional Park. It’s the rare place to see river wetlands and the desert in one trip. Another close destination is Lake Pleasant Regional Park off of Route 303 north.

To the south, you can ponder the mysterious Casa Grande Ruins. For another view of Arizona ancient architecture, you can head north on I-17 instead and see Montezuma Castle National Monument. From there, it’s just another 25 miles to the ancient Arizona neighborhood at Tuzigoot National Monument.

Another scenic spot to our north is Sedona. Exiting I-17 via Arizona Highway 179, the Red Rock Scenic Byway is an easy drive with scenery that others travel across the continent to see.

If you don’t mind a longer drive, it’s about 285 miles north to the remarkable views of the Grand Canyon. Going northwest, you could reach Las Vegas in 4 to 5 hours.