Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is a prominent suburb of the Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the south by the Gila River Indian Community, and to the east by Gilbert. The population was 240,595 according to the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate.
Chandler is noted for its annual Ostrich Festival. During the 1910s, there were ostrich farms in the area, catering to the demand for plumes used in women's hats of the era. This demand ebbed with the increasing popularity of the automobile, but the legacy of the ostrich farms would be commemorated by the Ostrich Festival. The Chandler Center for the Arts, a 1,500-seat regional performing arts venue, is located downtown, and the Arizona Railway Museum is at Tumbleweed Park.
Since 2003, more than 2,900 jobs and investments totalling $3 billion have been created along the Price and Santan freeways, between Arizona Avenue and Gilbert Road in the so-called South Arizona Avenue Corridor. Shopping malls provide a "strong attraction" to such an open-ended, high exposure trade area: the 1,300,000-square-foot Chandler Fashion Center, opened in 2001, has spurred on several courts and laneway developments. The northern portion is "attractive and possesses the historic character" for success, which "can be grown to the south".
Most of Chandler is served by the Chandler Unified School District. Chandler west of Loop 101 is served by the Kyrene Elementary School District and the Tempe Union High School District. The area east of Loop 101 and north of Warner Road is served by Mesa Public Schools. The San Vincente neighborhood in Chandler is served by Gilbert Public Schools.