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

New analysis shows households gaining thousands more each month, tens of thousands of jobs created, and statewide growth accelerating 

PHOENIX, Oct. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

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SOURCE Center for the Future of Arizona