Arizona may have lost some of its allure to residents of other states. Three economists looking at the state financial future say Arizona has become a laughingstock to people in some parts of the country and needs an image overhaul. Economist Dennis Hoffman says continuing to be near the bottom in education spending is one problem. Mike Orr of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University says that’s a prime reason Californians, who used to flock to the state, are having second thoughts.

“It's not taxes, because they would save enormous amounts of taxes by moving to Arizona now,” Orr said. “So we don't need to cut taxes any more. They're very concerned about low spending on education and low results compared with the schools they have.”

The ASU economists say population growth this year will be no greater than 1.5 percent, which they say is far below historic levels.