Paradise Valley is a small, wealthy town in Maricopa County with the town motto “there is a reason we call this valley ‘paradise’.” Its area is only about 15.5 square miles and its population is just 14,300, but its eight full-service resorts make it a leading tourist destination. As the most affluent community in the county, it features premier golf courses, shopping and dining. Its topography includes Camelback Mountain at its southern edge, Mummy Mountain at the city center, and Piestewa Peak at the Western border.

In the modern era, Paradise Valley was first used for agriculture, particularly cattle ranching. Surveyors with the Rio Verde Canal Company created the name, possibly because of the palo verde trees and lovely wildflowers. In the late 1940s the Paradise Valley area was subdivided into one- to five- acre residential lots. As Phoenix and Scottsdale grew nearby, residents wishing to protect their quality of life incorporated as a town in 1961. Students attend Scottsdale public schools.

The median house in Paradise Valley has 9 rooms and a value of about $1,790,000, making the zip code 85253 the most expensive in the state. The average list price per square foot is $442. Median household income is just under $175,000, and the median age is 53.4.