Chandler is situated in the southeast part of the Greater Phoenix area in the East Valley. By 1980, Chandler’s population had grown to 30,000. It is then able to keep up with the Phoenix metropolitan area’s population growth allowing the rise of vast residential areas in the suburban replacing the agricultural plots. The growth has been fueled by the increase in manufacturing plants for communication and computer firms such as Intel, Motorola, and Microchip. And because of the partnership with the local government by the manufacturing firms, the employment rate had risen by approximately 25% in 2007. There are parts of the downtown area in Chandler that are lower-income areas; however, the local government exerted efforts to make the city a dining and entertainment destination, and businesses have steadily increased their presence.