Payson (pop: 15,220) is a town at the meeting of three roads in Gila County, Arizona, United States. Its location puts it almost exactly in the geographic center of Arizona where it has been called "The Heart of Arizona".

In 1918 author Zane Grey made his first trip to the area surrounding Payson. He would come back with regularity through 1929. Grey wrote numerous books about the area and also filmed some movies, such as To the Last Man, in the Payson area in the 1920s.

Ninety-seven percent of the land around Payson is under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service (Payson is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest) or by tribal governments. Consequently much of the land is available for hiking, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities. Tonto Natural Bridge, the largest known travertine natural bridge in the world, is located just northwest of Payson in Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, a unit of the Arizona State Park system. The area incorporates three golf courses, two of which belong to private country clubs. Mazatzal Casino, a tribal casino, is operated by the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation near the south end of the city.

The Payson area is a popular destination for rockhounds. In various areas surrounding the community can be found quartz crystals rivaling Herkimer diamonds in quality, geodes, agate, and onyx. Fossils are commonly found in the Paleozoic strata that is exposed along the Mogollon Rim to the north and east of Payson along State Route 87 and State Route 260.

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