Report: Iowa public universities' economic impact calculated to be almost $15B a year

Phillip Sitter, Ames Tribune
·4 min read
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A new report has found the combined economic impact of Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa in the 2021-2022 fiscal year was $14.9 billion of income for the state of Iowa.

That's equal to approximately 7.1% of Iowa's total gross state product, according to an economic impact study from labor market analytics firm Lightcast, which was presented Wednesday to the Iowa Board of Regents.

But there's more. The study also noted the total of university activity supported more than 198,000 jobs in Iowa, or one job out of every 10 in the state, and average returns of $2.70 over the course of students' working lives for every taxpayer dollar spent.

Taxpayers invested $675.3 million of funding into Iowa's public universities in the 2021-2022 fiscal year and will in return receive $1.6 billion from students' higher lifetime earnings and increased business output. A reduced demand for government-funded services in Iowa will add another $256.2 million in benefits for taxpayers, according to Lightcast's findings.

There are lots of ways to measure economic impact that Lightcast looked at.

The three universities directly employed almost 33,000 full-time and part-time faculty and staff, including graduate assistants and student employees, but not University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and research employees, amounting to $1.9 billion in payroll.

Then there are the impacts of construction, hospital spending, Extension and Outreach services, start-up and spin-off companies, spending from out-of-state visitors, students' spending, volunteer hours and alumni's participation in the state's workforce.

Here's a look at how much each public institution in Iowa contributed to the state's economy in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, according to Lightcast. Research spending was calculated based on the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the most recent available data.

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Iowa State University Campanile. Photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune
Iowa State University Campanile. Photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune

Iowa State University

  • Total economic impact: $5 billion, which is about 2.4% of Iowa's gross state product, or more than 57,000 jobs — one out of every 36 jobs in the state

  • Workforce: more than 12,600 full-time and part-time faculty and staff, with $640.5 million in payroll

  • Research spending: $235.3 million in added income for the state

  • Out-of-state visitors: $37.8 million in added income for the state

  • Alumni: $2.1 billion in added income for the state

  • Return on taxpayers' investment: return of $1.90 over the course of students' working lives for every taxpayer dollar spent

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Students from the University of Iowa Class of 2026 wave to a drone while posing for a group photo, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022, on the Pentacrest in Iowa City, Iowa. The annual "Kickoff at Kinnick" event, where the class photo traditionally takes place, was canceled on Friday due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Students from the University of Iowa Class of 2026 wave to a drone while posing for a group photo, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022, on the Pentacrest in Iowa City, Iowa. The annual "Kickoff at Kinnick" event, where the class photo traditionally takes place, was canceled on Friday due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.

University of Iowa

  • Total economic impact (including from UI Hospitals & Clinics): $8 billion, which is about 3.8% of Iowa's gross state product or almost 109,700 jobs — one out of every 19 jobs in the state

  • Workforce (excluding UI Hospitals & Clinics): more than 16,600 full-time and part-time faculty and staff, with $1.1 billion in payroll

  • Research spending: $369.5 million in added income for the state

  • Out-of-state visitors: $91.2 million in added income for the state

  • Alumni: $3.5 billion in added income for the state; 77% of Iowa’s dentists are UI alumni and 48% of Iowa’s physicians and pharmacists were trained at UI

  • Return on taxpayers' investment: return of $3.50 over the course of students' working lives for every taxpayer dollar spent

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University of Northern Iowa

  • Total economic impact: $1.6 billion, which is about 0.7% of Iowa's gross state product or more than 25,900 jobs — one out of every 78 jobs in the state

  • Workforce: more than 3,700 full-time and part-time faculty and staff, with $159 million in payroll

  • Research spending: $2.9 million in added income for the state

  • Out-of-state visitors: $50.8 million in added income for the state

  • Alumni: $1.3 billion in added income for the state

  • Return on taxpayers' investment: return of $2 over the course of students' working lives for every taxpayer dollar spent

Full reports are available at iowaregents.edu/reports/economic-impact-reports-fy-2021-22.

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Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Report reveals Iowa public universities’ economic impact