Clayton State University generates $283 million economic impact in south metro Atlanta region

(August 28, 2019) -  Clayton State University continues to rank high among the University System of Georgia’s (USG) state universities with the largest economic impact, according to a recent report released by the system. 

Year-over-year, Clayton State’s impact on the local economy has increased, generating more than $283.2 million into the surrounding region for fiscal year 2018.

The university positively impacted 2,854 jobs locally, including creating or retaining 826 on-campus jobs, in addition to supporting 2,028 positions that exist off-campus due to institution-related spending.

The largest portion of Clayton State’s “output impact” is student spending. The report finds that spending among Clayton State’s students reached $120 million for the fiscal year. Researchers indicate spending is inclusive of daily living expenses ranging from groceries to healthcare, textbooks and dining out.

Overall, the 26 institutions in USG generated a statewide economic impact of $17.7 billion during fiscal year 2018, an increase of nearly 5 percent over the previous year.

Employment accounted for 168,284 jobs generated by the system, with 30 percent of those being on-campus positions and the other 70 percent off-campus.

The economic impact annual study was conducted on behalf of the Board of Regents by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the Terry College of Business of The University of Georgia. To calculate the economic impact for FY 2018, analyzed data collected between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.

The full study with data for all USG institutions is available at https://www.usg.edu/assets/usg/docs/news_files/USG_Impact_2018.pdf