Arizona Records Its Biggest Economic Development Year Yet

By Kyle Macdonald, COO, Silicon Oasis

Arizona just closed the biggest economic development year in the state's history.

During fiscal year 2026, the Arizona Commerce Authority and its local partners worked with companies that committed to creating 26,225 projected new jobs and investing more than $109 billion across Arizona—records for both measures.

The projected jobs carry an average wage of more than $81,000.

Those numbers tell a larger story about where Arizona's economy is heading.

The year's projects span semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, technology, logistics and other high-growth industries. Major names expanding their Arizona presence include TSMC, Amkor, ASML, Applied Materials, Axon, Garmin, Hadrian and Cognite.

And the growth isn't concentrated in one place.

Projects occurred across 23 Arizona communities, stretching from Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler and Tempe to Tucson, Marana, Yuma and Cochise County.

For Arizona's technology ecosystem, the scale of capital investment is particularly significant. Semiconductor manufacturing and its supply chain continue to establish a deeper presence here, while companies across defense, software and advanced manufacturing are adding another layer to the state's economy.

This year also marks the 15th anniversary of the Arizona Commerce Authority. Since its creation in 2011, the ACA and its partners have secured more than 1,428 competitive projects representing over 338,000 projected jobs and $304 billion in capital investment.

More than one-third of that cumulative capital investment was committed in FY26 alone.

Arizona isn't the same economy it was 15 years ago.

The next challenge is turning this extraordinary period of business attraction and investment into something even more durable: more companies started here, more Arizona founders funded here, more talent developed here and more of the economic value created by this growth staying here.

That's how we turn an economic development boom into an ecosystem.

And that's the opportunity in front of Arizona now.