Reports Show UF’s Significant Economic Impact on State and County

The University of Findlay generates $196.2 million for Ohio’s economy, and $154.1 million for Hancock County’s, proving that its influence reaches far beyond academics. Those figures and more are included in recently commissioned economic impact reports.
The reports are based on UF’s 2014 financial statements, which reflect expenses such as staff payroll, capital improvements and inventory purchases. Student, employee and visitor spending also factored into the formula that was used to arrive at these numbers.
The fiscal facts, however, also reflect the University’s positive influence on the people of Findlay, Hancock County and throughout Ohio. It’s spending bolsters industries and organizations. Consequently, it provides jobs and has a positive influence on residents’ quality of life.
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Completed in May by Michael C. Carroll, Ph.D., Bowling Green State University’s economics professor and director of its Center for Regional Development, the state report shows that UF:

• Generated $196.2 million annually for Ohio’s economy
• Actively created nearly 1,829 jobs in the state
• Generated $7.3 million in state and local taxes annually
• Generated about $139.1 million annually on capital improvements, operations and employees
• Generated $28.2 million in indirect spending, which includes purchases such as labor and raw materials from local suppliers
• Enabled $49.2 million in students spending statewide
• Enabled $7.8 million in spending from visitors, which supports 88 jobs, mostly in Hancock County

The formula produced minutiae reporting. For instance, it was determined that UF contributes $2,343 toward creamery butter manufacturing in the buckeye state. Spending was broken down into 523 sectors representing individual industries that operate in Ohio.
On a countywide basis, it was found that UF:

• Created 1,595 jobs with its economic activity
• Generated $52.1 million in employee compensation annually
• Generated $39.8 million in student spending
• Enabled $6.1 million in economic activity thanks to visitor spending
• Generated $12.9 million in federal taxes annually
• Generated $7.3 million in state and local taxes annually.

A geographic information system was used to spatially locate the University’s expenditure transactions, Carroll said. “Once the geographic spending patterns were determined, the data were coupled with an economic input/output model to determine the appropriate spending multipliers for The University of Findlay’s service area,” he explained. Inter- and intra-industry transactions are part of the formula.
As for employees, part-time workers’ hours were aggregated into full-time equivalents and reported with the full-time workers, Carroll noted.
The state and county economic impact reports complement the University’s own 2014 Community Benefit Report that staffers compiled and released last fall. That report showed the University:

• Employed nearly 700 full- and part-time workers who contribute $503,089 to local payroll taxes
• Had $8.8 million in expenditures in Hancock County
• Spent $25 million in construction activity on campus
• Enrolled 937 College Credit Plus students from high schools
• Had students complete 53 community service projects, totaling 2,055 hours