PHOENIX — Arizona does not appear to be living up to its reputation as a haven for retirees.
New figures today from the U.S. Census Bureau show the number of people in the state who are 65 and older has increased just 18.3 percent since the beginning of the decade, which means the percentage of Arizonans who are of retirement age actually has slipped a bit since then.
By contrast, census analysts found statistics to show Arizona is going to have to keep building schools and hiring teachers — a lot of them.
There are now more than 480,000 Arizonans younger than 5 — or about one of every 13 residents. That's 25.7 percent more than were here when the decennial census was conducted. Only Utah and Texas have a larger percentage of children younger than 5.
Overall, the state's median age rose just a hair, from 34.2 when the decennial census was taken to 34.6 now.
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Gov. Janet Napolitano said the numbers do not surprise her.
"It kind of blows the old stereotype of Arizona as a retirement community," she said.
More immediately, she said, it points out the pressing need for more teachers and more schools. But how to accomplish those goals, and pay for them has long been the source of regular disagreements between the governor, the Legislature and education system leaders.
