A study released Tuesday by the University System of Georgia (USG) revealed the University of North Georgia (UNG) had an economic impact of more than $667 million on the northeast Georgia region during fiscal year 2018.
The dollar amount represents an increase of $47 million over the previous fiscal year. An additional $1.77 million impact is attributed to capital construction projects in FY18.
The annual USG study of economic impact measures direct and indirect spending that contributes to each university's service region.
"This annual study once again shows the strong impact that UNG has on the economic strength of northeast Georgia," UNG President Bonita Jacobs said in a press statement. "In addition to increasing educational attainment through access to an affordable, high-quality education, we continue to work with partners in education, industry and the community to facilitate economic development across the region and beyond."
Included in UNG’s economic impact is $260 million in spending by nearly 20,000 students, which alone created 3,898 jobs in the study area. On average, for every dollar spent by the university, an additional 47-cents is generated for the region.
The study area for UNG was Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Union and White counties, communities where UNG campuses are located or contiguous communities.
UNG, which has campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville and Oconee County, also had a regional employment impact of 7,004 jobs in the same period, an increase of 235 jobs from the previous study. The employment impact includes on-campus positions and off-campus jobs that exist due to the institution.
As a whole, public colleges and universities that comprised the USG in 2018 had an impact of $17.7 billion on the state, an increase of almost 5% over the previous year.
The annual study is conducted on behalf of the USG Board of Regents by Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. The study reports expenditures and impacts for the 2018 fiscal year – July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
The full economic impact report is available on the USG web site.
