During the years of the Hiremath administration, much was said of making Oro Valley a younger community. As of 2018, eight years into his reign, that had not happened.
The medium age of Oro Valley residents is 53. As you can see in the chart below, there is a bulge in age of our population starting at age 45. Sort of like "middle age spread."
In Oro Valley, the number of people that are 40 or younger is far fewer than those older than 40. The opposite is true in Marana. The number of those under 20 is really pretty small. In Marana, that number is much bigger.
Economic incentives to bring in good jobs may result in more commuters and not more residents
Town staff asserts that one reason that Oro Valley does not have a younger demographic is the lack of high paying jobs. Following their logic: The lack of high-paying jobs is one reason that is cited by the town for giving economic incentives to attract commercial enterprises. Perhaps they're right. If you have the jobs, it's likely people will come. But where will they live?
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We think they are more likely to live in Marana than Oro Valley. They will enjoy a relatively short commute on a much wider Tangerine Road.
Marana is a much younger community as seen at right.
Young families have gone there. They have not moved to Oro Valley.
Real-sized yards and kid-friendly parks
Vice Mayor Barrett believes that there are reasons Oro Valley is not attracting younger families, reasons that go beyond jobs.
During a December interview Barrett observed: “We have a lot of young families that are choosing to live in Marana right now. A lot of that is because Marana has been investing in Parks and Recreation‘s specifically for young families.” She gave examples of splash pads, ball fields. “... whereas, Oro Valley really has not been putting that kind of investment in. That’s something I’d like to see change.”
Barrett also observed, and we think that this is a rather unique observation, that the small size of many Oro Valley back yards are not really suitable to people with younger families. In other words a small lot size with a small backyard might be good for older residents, the majority of Oro Valley residents, but not really suitable for younger family. The majority of Oro Valley homes are just like that.
She noted: “We need more yard space with our houses. I don’t know how many people I’ve spoken to who said: ‘I’ve moved to Marana because Oro Valley homes don't have a big enough yard. I wanted a yard that my children or my dog could be in. I wanted to be able to install a pool if I wanted to.”
It's not that Marana has more land than Oro Valley. It's really that Marana has taken a different approach to their lot sizing.
And Oro Valley homes are more expensive
We've previously written that Oro Valley is a more expensive place to live. The average cost per square foot of a home in Marana is $149. In Oro Valley, the average cost per square foot is $167. That's a huge difference, especially given Oro Valley's small lot sizes.
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