An updated look at ESA zip code data

Updated data through October 15 shows 20% of those who applied for universal vouchers live in a six-figure median income zip code.

Last month, I was the first to report on families who applied for universal ESA vouchers showing wealthier Arizonans are the ones taking advantage of the massive expansion compared to lower income families and new data shows that’s even more the case now.

Read my original story here which pulled numbers through September 27.

The Arizona Department of Education fulfilled my updated request for the same data through October 15, which was the new date set for parents to apply for the vouchers where they could still qualify for Q1 funding.

Overall, there are now 30,402 applications for universal expansion which doesn’t include the number of people who qualify for one of the original purposes of the program like a learning disability.

Last month, the number of applications coming from zip codes with $100,000 or higher median household income made up 18% of all application. That number has increased to roughly 20% or 5,978 applications from 20 zip codes across the state.

Once again, I made a map of all zip codes for you to browse.

This update included 30+ zip codes that didn’t crack 20 applications last time around and the one that really jumped on the extended deadline was Phoenix’s 85014 which has a median income of $52,408 and made up 124 applications through Oct. 15.

• Arizona’s statewide median household income is $61,529.

• 20,946 applications came from those above the statewide median which is from 100 zip codes. That’s 69% of the overall number.

  • That number increased from 67.5% in the original report.

• Meaning, 31% of all applications for universal voucher expansion are from below average median household incomes in Arizona.

Here is the full chart of the data, click the image to see it in full: