In 2017, the University System of Georgia had a $16.8 billion economic impact on the state of Georgia, according to an annual report available here. The report also found that the USG created 163,754 jobs last year, and 2.2 of those jobs were created for every one USG job in an institution’s home town.

“As we strive to graduate more students, keep college affordable and increase the efficiency in delivering education, it’s important to keep in mind that higher education is an investment, and from these numbers it’s a smart one,” Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. “Communities across our state and the state as a whole are benefiting from the economic engine that is the USG and its 26 institutions.”

The report found these economic impacts demonstrate that continued emphasis on colleges and universities as a pillar of the state’s economy translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater production of goods and services.

The report also indicated an overall increase in full- and part-time jobs either at USG institutions or because of them. Of the 163,754 jobs noted in the report, 50,541 or 31 percent are on the campuses while 113,213 or 69 percent, are off campus. For every person employed at the USG or a member institution, 2.2 people have jobs that support the presence of the institution in the local community.

The annual study is conducted on behalf of the Board of Regents by Jeffrey M. Humphreys, Ph.D., director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.