Cost of living pushing some first responders out of their job in rural Arizona
Prescott is finding that its pricey homes are preventing it from filling job postings for much-needed first responders like firefighters. The math doesn’t work: Firefighter salary starts in the mid-$50,000 range, but the city’s median home price of $672,000 requires an income of $165,000 a year. On top of that, affordable rentals there are scarce. Some firefighters commute from the Valley but find it doesn’t make sense because they can easily find jobs in metro Phoenix. Northern Arizona University is spending $800,000 to study first responder recruitment statewide, particularly in finding “housing solutions” for them in rural areas of the state. Of course, the answer is “build more housing,” but it’s not that simple ever since Gov. Katie Hobbs announced that the state won’t approve residential development that relies on groundwater.
