Sell Your Commercial Property In Glendale, AZ

Who rents in Glendale

Glendale had an estimated 252,833 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, in 88,633 occupied homes. Renters occupied 37,954 of them and owners 50,679, a 42.8% renter share. Among the cities in our comparison, only Tucson (48.2%) has a higher renter share; Mesa (35.6%), Chandler (35.0%), Scottsdale (33.0%) and Gilbert (26.9%) are all lower.

Incomes are modest by metro standards. Glendale's median household income was $73,530, below Mesa's $82,752 and well below Chandler's $108,095. Lower incomes mean more households rent by necessity and stay longer in older, lower-cost buildings.

Luke Air Force Base is the city's best-known employer. The Fighter Country Foundation, in a profile current as of January 2020, describes the 56th Fighter Wing as the largest fighter wing in the Air Force and says Luke trains about 75% of the world's F-35 pilots. It counts about 4,300 active duty personnel, 1,300 reservists and 1,300 civilian staff, plus about 6,700 family members, and puts the base's total direct and indirect economic impact on Arizona at nearly $2.4 billion. The same profile reports that Luke graduates about 105 F-35 pilots, 188 F-16 pilots and 98 F-35 maintainers a year, and that about 65,000 military retirees live in the Phoenix area. Student pilots, maintainers and instructors rotate in on fixed assignments, and many rent rather than buy.

The Westgate Entertainment District and State Farm Stadium, and Midwestern University's Glendale campus, both named on our Glendale page, add service, event and student demand in the west and north parts of the city.

Rents and affordability

Median gross rent in Glendale was $1,528 over 2020–2024, per ACS table B25064. That is the lowest of the five Maricopa County cities we compare, below Mesa ($1,620), Chandler ($1,902), Scottsdale ($2,013) and Gilbert ($2,110).

Low rents still strain budgets. Of Glendale's renter households, 55.5% spend 30% or more of income on rent, and 28.2% spend at least half, higher than Mesa (52.4% and 24.1%), Chandler (43.9% and 20.1%) or Gilbert (44.5% and 19.0%). That limits how far renewals can rise and makes careful screening and voucher tenancies important for owners of older buildings.

HUD's Fair Market Rents, which set voucher payment standards, sit above Glendale's Census median at most unit sizes. The table compares them with metro asking rents:

FMRs are for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA from HUD, and the metro's voucher programs apply ZIP-level Small Area FMRs. Asking rents are metro averages from Kidder Mathews using CoStar data. For a Glendale owner with older units, the gap between voucher payment standards and market asking rents can make voucher-backed tenancies a meaningful part of the rent roll.

The apartment stock

Glendale has 93,736 housing units. Per ACS table B25024, 23,501 of them, or 25.1%, are in buildings with five or more units: 4,823 in 5–9 unit buildings, 6,092 in 10–19 unit buildings, 4,171 in 20–49 unit buildings and 8,415 in complexes of 50 or more. That is a larger apartment share than Mesa (19.7%) or Chandler (20.1%). Mobile homes add 5,365 units, and detached houses make up 55,490.

The stock is older. The median year built is 1986. The 1970s produced 21,962 units and the 1980s 21,420, together nearly half of all housing, and 35.4% of units date from before 1980. Only 8.6% were built in 2010 or later. Many of Glendale's small and mid-size apartment buildings come from that 1970s–1980s period and are now due for roof, plumbing, electrical and HVAC work.

The areas named on our Glendale page differ sharply. Historic Downtown Glendale and the central and southern parts of the city hold most of the older walk-ups and garden complexes. Arrowhead Ranch, in the north, is a newer master-planned area built largely around single-family homes and newer complexes. Westgate, in the west, is newer development built around the stadium and entertainment district. The Deer Valley area straddles city lines, so check which city a parcel is in before comparing taxes and services.

New supply

The metro pipeline is shrinking. Kidder Mathews reported 15,974 apartment units under construction across the Phoenix area in Q2 2026, down 35.5% from a year earlier, and 6,355 units delivered in the first half of 2026. Metro vacancy was 11.3%, down from 11.7%, and asking rent fell 2.2% to $1,536. As fewer new units open, older Glendale buildings should face less pressure from lease-up concessions.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Maricopa County

Apartments are legal class 4 property in Arizona, with an assessment ratio of 10%. The tax base is the limited property value, which under A.R.S. 42-13301 grows at most 5% a year and cannot exceed full cash value. Because a sale is not among the recalculation triggers in A.R.S. 42-13302, a buyer generally inherits the seller's limited value. Valuation appeals are due within 60 days of the notice.

Glendale's city levy is higher than its neighbors'. The 2025 Maricopa County rate schedule lists Glendale at 0.3242 primary and 1.1296 secondary per $100 of assessed value, compared with 0.0000 and 0.8582 in Mesa and 0.2118 and 0.8700 in Chandler. County-wide levies include 1.1591 for the county primary rate, 1.0600 primary for the community college district, 0.1428 for flood control, 0.1400 for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District and 0.2914 for the Special Health Care District. Glendale is split among several school districts, whose rates are added and vary by parcel.

There is no real estate transfer tax in Arizona, and the state constitution bars new ones. The Department of Revenue confirms that city transaction privilege tax on long-term residential rent ended on January 1, 2025.

Landlord rules and local compliance

Glendale cannot regulate rents on private housing. A.R.S. 33-1329 preempts rent control statewide, with an exception for housing owned, financed, insured or subsidized by a state agency or a city. Deposits are capped at one and a half months' rent under A.R.S. 33-1321, with an itemized accounting due within 14 business days after move-out and the tenant's demand. Nonpayment allows termination after a five-day notice. Rentals must be registered with the Maricopa County Assessor under A.R.S. 33-1902, out-of-state owners must name an Arizona statutory agent, and an unregistered newly acquired rental can face a $1,000 penalty plus $100 a month after a 10-day cure, or $150 a day for an existing property.

The act also sets a 10-day notice for other material lease violations, and a landlord who wrongfully withholds a deposit can owe twice the amount withheld. In a city where most renters are cost-burdened, clean deposit and notice records reduce disputes, and buyers will ask to see them.

What this means if you own a building here

A Glendale seller usually offers a buyer steady renter demand and older units with room to improve. The trade-offs are a heavily rent-burdened tenant base and capital needs that buyers will price in. Kidder Mathews put the metro average cap rate at 5.8% in Q2 2026, down from 6.6% a year earlier, but a 1970s building in central Glendale will be valued on its own trailing net operating income, collections history and repair needs.

Before you list, separate any old rental-tax charges from your operating history, confirm your assessor registration and document system ages. Our cap rate calculator can help you test pricing. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings across Glendale, listed or off-market; see our seller page for how we underwrite.