New Study Shows ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Generates $10.4 Billion Annually for ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Economy

Study from Jacob France Institute Affirms Nearly Three-to-One Return on State’s Investment

Baltimore, Md. (Dec. 10, 2021) -- The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø (ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø) generated an impressive $10.4 billion in estimated economic impact for ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø during fiscal year 2021 and supported 57,505 ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø jobs, according to a new report from the Jacob France Institute (JFI) at the University of Baltimore. The new JFI report updates a similar analysis conducted for the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø in 2011.

The study, “The Economic Impact of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø: A Human Capital Investment and Fiscal Analysis,” details the many ways the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø contributes to the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø economy, including workforce development, research and innovation, and the lifetime earnings of its graduates—who often remain in the state to live, work, and contribute to the state’s economy.

“We talk a lot about the University System’s core missions: education, research, and service,” said ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Chancellor Jay A. Perman. “But what we don’t talk about enough is that these missions translate into billions of dollars of economic activity every year, advancing ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s strength and prosperity. For every dollar the state invests in us, we return nearly three times that amount back to ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s communities. Our work is a key driver of economic growth, and that growth benefits all of the state’s citizens.”

Using a detailed analysis that includes a specific look at four representative ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø graduating cohort classes—1986, 1989, 1996, and 2006—the study finds a substantial, cumulative impact that these ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø graduates have on state revenues and the economy. Those impacts and other notable findings include:

The state of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s return on each dollar invested in the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø ranges from $1.90 (1996 cohort) to $2.90 (2006 cohort).
 
  • ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø graduates can expect to earn more over his or her lifetime than those individuals holding only a high-school diploma—those with bachelor’s degrees, on average, earn $2.5-to-$4.2 million more in incremental earnings.  Those with ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø graduate degrees earn even more over those at the next-lowest education level: between $100,000-to-$900,000 more for a master’s recipients; $40,000-to-$600,000 for a doctoral degree over a master’s; and professional degrees (such as law and medicine) between $2.5-to-$3.9 million more.
  • The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø also draws a significant amount of out-of-state economic activity into ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, including out-of-state student tuition, fees, living expenses, federal grants and contracts, and out-of-state visitor spending.  Such spending totals almost $3.3 billion and supports 26,791 jobs whose cumulative earnings were nearly $1.1 billion in FY 2019. 
  • The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø accounted for 72.1 percent of the total enrollment of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s four-year degree granting institutions, up from 69 percent in the 2011 study. The system also accounted for 79 percent of total bachelor’s degrees awarded; 53 percent of total master’s degrees; 55 percent of total doctoral degrees; and 83 percent of professional degrees awarded.
  • The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø plays a vital role in workforce development, with a strong impact on occupations that face shortages in workers. The system generates 82 percent of bachelor’s STEM (non-health) degrees; 79 percent of education degrees; and 81 percent of both business and health degrees.
  • The JFI study also finds that the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø is a leader in supporting ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s economic competitiveness. The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø generates $1.3 billion in research expenditures, which supports the development of new technologies and innovation-driven companies. For example, in FY 2019 the system generated 331 invention disclosures, 198 new patent applications and also executed 68 new licenses. In sum, 119 companies have been formed based on ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø technologies.

Overall, the new report provides further evidence that bolsters the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø’s profound impact on the state’s economic activity and standing as a source of educated and skilled workers and leaders for ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø employers. The report offers extensive information on how each ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institution contributes to the quality of life in ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø through a wide array of community service activities.  Additional information on the JFI report can be obtained from the executive summary and the full report. A link to the full report can be found here.

The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore County; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Center for Environmental Science; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, College Park; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Eastern Shore; and the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Global Campus. The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown, and the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Southern ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø—at which ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.





 

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu