By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)
A detailed study on the economic impact of Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa on the state was presented to the Board of Regents at their meeting last week.
Consultant Hannah Ruffridge says they looked at the impact of universities simply operating, paying their employees, buying equipment. “So within fiscal year 2023-2024, the universities has added two-point-three BILLION dollars on in state income to Iowa. So I’m going to pause here. This is in terms of added income, not in terms of sales. Added income, you can think of being synonymous with gross state product,” she says.
Ruffridge says they also subtract out what the impact of state dollars spent on the schools would be if the schools didn’t exist and the money was spent elsewhere. The study looked at the impact of construction activity at the three universities. “And that total added income came to $271.9 million. Again, we have your multiplier or ripple effects. We also consider that alternative impact as well and subtract that out here. This is equivalent to supporting nearly 2,800 jobs,” Ruffridge says.
The report separated out the impact of the money spent by U-I Healthcare, because she says it is different distinct business. “So when they spend money, that is then going out into the rest of the state economy and has a positive impact upon the state. That came to $2.5 billion, equivalent to supporting just over 32,000 jobs,” she says.
Spending on research and the actual industries that are being affected by the research activities was also looked at separately. “So the research spending impact, including your multiplier effects and your alternative impact as well, came to $753.9 million, equivalent to just over 10,000 jobs,” Ruffridge says.
The report also chronicled the impact of visitors come from outside the state. “And that could be to attend commencement, sports events, conferences, symposiums, whatever it is. When they come into the state, they are now spending money on hotels, on gas, on dining out at your local restaurants,” she says. “That’s an injection of new money into the state economy that would not have been here without the universities attracting these visitors. So visitor spending impact came to $160.8 million, equivalent to just over 3,100 jobs. This is usually one of the most conservative impacts.”
The survey went into many more areas, including the impact of keeping students in the state, the impact of graduates. Ruffridge says the first study her company Lightcast did in 2019 found the impact of universities on the state was $11.3 billion, and the second one in 2022 was $14 billion.
You can see the full student on the Board of Regents website.
