Sedona Economic and City Trends: Where have we been, and where are we going?

By Mark TenBroek

Sedona, AZ — If you have ever wondered about how the Sedona economy is doing, how many Short Term Rentals there are and where they are located, how many staff the City has budgeted and similar questions about our community, I prepared a summary report (Sedona Annual Report 2026) on the items that were of interest to me.

Included are the basics of the community such as population, employment, lodging, STRs, vacant land, sales and bed taxes, and the gross sales in several categories. An example of this information is shown in the following Figure 1:

You may also wonder about how the City operates, how many employees there are, how much they are paid, and how they compare with other communities in Arizona.  The following Figure 2 shows where Sedona stands.  The Annual Report provides additional information on how the City manages their responsibilities to the community.

You may also be interested in the types of crimes that Sedona experiences, and how the Sedona Police Department addresses the enforcement responsibilities.  The following Figure 3 shows the change in major crime over the years, which is trending down similar to the national reduction in serious crime.

Take a look at the Sedona Annual Report 2026 to see this and more about Sedona conditions and operations.  Comments and suggestions on other topics to explore are always appreciated.

Mark is a retired Professional Civil Engineer who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1977 and worked as a consulting and design engineer in the Midwest for over 40 years.  He worked primarily on Water and Wastewater projects for municipalities and utilities.  He understands Sedona’s unique place as both a sacred and spiritual center. Researching how the local economy can be effectively managed to protect our quality of life, the natural world, the tourist experience, and reasonable profits for local businesses, has become his passion.