San Luis native Armando Esparza did what many young people in rural Arizona do: He left his hometown for the big city. Esparza moved from the agricultural community on the Arizona-Mexico border to study at Arizona State University and lived in Phoenix to build his career. Ten years later, he moved back to San Luis to work as the director of the city’s economic development department. “I was able to find a job opportunity where I can apply what I have learned in my years of economic development, and most importantly, I am able to grow,” he said about why he chose to move back. “This is not the case for a lot of people, but I was lucky.” Esparza’s experience a decade ago is still common. That’s illustrated in a recent report gathered by Local First Arizona, a rural economic development nonprofit. The organization in 2023 surveyed 440 young people up to 25 years old, with more than 70% of participants under 18 years old. In the report titled “Perspectives from Youth and Young Adults of Rural Arizona,” eight out of 10 respondents said they must leave their hometowns to find a quality career opportunity. Young people pointed to job quality and the lack of affordable housing as detractors in their small communities, the majority of which have populations well below 10,000 people. Rural city and town officials also stressed the lack of affordable housing, which they see as the primary obstacle forcing young people to leave.But the consequences of that familiar story were upended when the COVID- …