Of the approximately 68,000 ESA students, a large number reside in some of the state's largest school districts.
Since the beginning of universal expansion, ESA enrollments in the Scottsdale Unified School District have grown by over 1,000%. Paradise Valley Unified and Deer Valley Unified grew by about 700%. Tucson and Mesa Unified saw ESA growth by 300%.
ESA enrollment rates are big in smaller districts as well when adjusting for population. Using census estimates for the under-18 population in each district, ABC15 found that Colorado City Unified School District, situated on the border between Arizona and Utah, had the largest rate of enrollment; 152 per 1,000 students. The other leading districts include Young Elementary District, Fort Thomas Unified, Ash Creek Elementary District, Concho Elementary District and San Carlos Unified District. Most of these districts are located on or near federal and state-recognized tribal land. Students residing on tribal land were eligible for an ESA award prior to universal expansion.
Of school districts in the Valley, the highest per capita rates of ESA enrollment are found in large, suburban, unified school districts; Queen Creek, Higley, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and Deer Valley.
One of the main criticisms coming from opponents of the state’s ESA program is it mostly benefits students in wealthy areas. ABC15 analyzed median household incomes in these districts and found that criticism to be somewhat true. The median household income in Arizona for the 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year estimates was $65,913. Fifty-seven percent of ESA enrollees were in districts with a higher median household income and 43% lived in districts with a lower one.
When removing districts with fewer than 10 ESA enrollees and major outliers like Colorado City Unified, the correlation between per capita ESA students and median household income was moderately strong.
In general, the higher the household income, the more ESA students the district has within its borders.
