The University of Toledo contributed $2.8 billion to the regional economy during the 2021-22 academic year, according to an economic impact study conducted by an independent consulting firm.
That number accounts for approximately 6.1% of the region’s total gross regional product. One in 11 jobs in Ohio’s Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa and Wood counties — a total of 36,911 regional jobs — is supported by the activities of the University and its students.
The University of Toledo contributed $2.8 billion to the regional economy during the 2021-22 academic year, according to an economic impact study conducted by an independent consulting firm.
“The University of Toledo is proud to be Toledo’s university and an important anchor institution in northwest Ohio,” UToledo President Gregory Postel said. “This economic impact study underscores the important role that UToledo students, faculty and staff play in supporting and strengthening the regional economy.”
UToledo commissioned Lightcast, a leader in labor market analytics, to quantify both its economic impact and the benefits it generates in return for the investments made by students and taxpayers.
The study was done in connection with a larger project by the Inter-University Council of Ohio to quantify the economic impact of the state’s 4 four-year research universities. In total, public higher education had a $68.9 billion total impact on the state representing 8.8% of Ohio’s total gross state product. The study also found that activities of the public universities and their students support 866,782 jobs — one in eight Ohio jobs.
The report underscores the high value of a UToledo education. For every dollar a student invests in their UToledo degree, it’s calculated that they’ll receive $7.20 in higher future earnings. The average annual return on investment is 18.9%.
Those figures are higher than the average across Ohio’s 14 public universities at $5.60 and 16.2% in the statewide economic impact study.
Meanwhile, UToledo generates more in tax revenue than it receives.
For every dollar of public money invested in UToledo, taxpayers enjoy a cumulative value of $4.20 over the course of students’ working lives. That comes to $467.3 million in added taxes for students enrolled during the fiscal year 2022.
In calculating economic impact, Lightcast considered direct expenditures — accounting for the daily operations of the University, its hospital and its research operations — and the resulting expenditures of visitors, students and regional businesses. It also considers the economic impact of student volunteers and of alumni employed in the region.
These alumni are credited with generating $2.1 billion in added income for the regional economy.
Lightcast’s methodology is different than that used by UToledo economists in the last comprehensive economic impact study commissioned by the University several years ago, which put the total economic impact at $3.3 billion for 2015-16.
Lightcast differed in that it reported added income, for example, a net measure that excludes intermediary costs associated with producing goods and services and money that leaks out of the region. Lightcast also calculated counterfactuals to account for in-region spending that would have happened even without the existence of UToledo, among other methodological differences.
The IUC, which is a voluntary educational association of Ohio’s public universities including UToledo, released its statewide economic impact study earlier this year and it is available on the IUC website.
