Households Gain, Jobs & Economy Grow: New Report Quantifies Payoff of Acting on Arizona Voter Priorities

Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) today released Unlocking Potential: Turn Arizona’s Priorities into Economic Gains, the first-ever economic analysis of voter-identified priorities. Conducted by Rounds Consulting Group, the study answers a vital question: What would it mean for Arizona to act on the priorities voters overwhelmingly agree on across party lines? The data demonstrate that doing so would unlock benefits that ripple across families, communities, and the entire state.

This landmark report builds on CFA’s Arizona Voters’ Agenda, a statewide initiative that identifies where voters strongly agree across political affiliations and generations. The most recent Voters’ Agenda, developed for the 2024 election cycle, found striking consensus on many issues, including expanding childcare assistance, increasing access to dual enrollment and post-secondary attainment, improving housing affordability, and investing in transportation infrastructure. These five topics were the foundation for the new economic analysis, quantifying the potential economic returns of realizing voter priorities.

“Arizonans are pragmatic and results-oriented,” said Dr. Sybil Francis, Chair, President & CEO of CFA. “Their priorities aren’t ideological, they’re practical. And when we follow their lead, we can create the conditions for stronger households, an agile and resilient workforce, and sustained statewide growth.”

CFA commissioned Rounds Consulting Group (RCG), Arizona’s leading independent economics and public policy firm with decades of expertise analyzing the state’s economy, to conduct the independent analysis and develop the new report. Using Arizona-specific data on wages, education, labor force participation, housing costs, and infrastructure investment, combined with nationally recognized economic modeling, RCG measured the potential outcomes of each topic. The report estimates the scale of benefits Arizona could realize without prescribing specific policy solutions.

Key Findings at a Glance

• Childcare Access & Affordability: Expanding access and affordability would free up $9,300 per year in household income, generate $12 billion in annual output, support more than 115,000 jobs across the economy–both by enabling parents to stay in the workforce and through the ripple effects of increased spending–while reducing costly productivity losses for employers.
• Dual Enrollment (earning college credit while in high school): Dual-enrolled students are twice as likely to pursue post-secondary education and can finish college up to nearly two years early, saving families about $12,800 annually in higher education costs. At a statewide level, every additional 2,000 dual-enrolled students generates about $48 million in economic output and $3.5 million in new tax revenues.
• Post-Secondary Attainment: Each year, Arizona is projected to have a gap of more than 71,000 jobs that Arizonans could fill with additional education and training after high school. Closing this gap would generate $20 billion in economic output, nearly $8 billion in wages, and $744 million in tax revenues annually, while expanding opportunities for higher-value employment statewide.
• Housing: Reducing household cost burdens to 30% of income would free up $8,900 per household annually, unlocking more than $13 billion in statewide gains and supporting more than 126,000 jobs while stabilizing communities and reducing pressure on public services.
• Transportation: Every $1 invested in infrastructure returns $1.60-$3.70. Improved mobility could save households up to $1,100 per month in reduced time, fuel, and costs while boosting competitiveness across regions.

“The findings reveal that voter priorities align with core economic fundamentals that drive growth and deliver value to taxpayers,” said Jim Rounds, President of Rounds Consulting Group. “It’s encouraging to see that what Arizonans want for the state also produces measurable returns. This kind of analysis lays a critical and needed foundation for policymakers that we should deepen and expand upon into new areas to strengthen decision-making.”

“Understanding the measurable potential of acting on voter priorities gives us an opportunity to move beyond short-term politics and focus on the kind of long-term planning Arizonans want,” added Dr. Francis. “Our future prosperity and quality of life depend on it. We hope leaders across sectors use these findings to guide decisions that reflect public priorities and strengthen households, communities, and the economy. CFA stands ready to work alongside partners statewide to turn shared priorities into real progress for our state.”

CFA will release a series of issue-specific briefs in the coming weeks and engage leaders statewide to explore how these findings can inform long-term planning and action.

Visit arizonafuture.org/UnlockPotential to access the full report, methodology, and additional resources.