Economic Impact Report Shows SCF Contributes

Economic Impact Report Shows SCF Contributes $432 Million to Area

An economic analysis by EMSI* of SCF’s impact on its service area shows that the College has a total annual impact of $432.4 million, representing 1.5 percent of the total regional economy. The numbers show SCF plays a significant role in the local economy and creates value in many ways. The College generates more in tax revenues than it takes. SCF is key in helping students increase their employability. It serves a range of industries, supports local businesses and is an important employer in the region. Students benefit from increased earnings, taxpayers benefit from a larger economy and lower social costs, and the community benefits from increased job and investment opportunities, higher business revenues and an eased tax burden.

The study analyzed operations, student spending and the effects of alumni to calculate an economic impact. The College spends about $51.6 million on operations in the community, helping to create 1,310 jobs. SCF also pays for goods and services in the region, spending $34.3 million for facilities, professional services and supplies in 2015-16.

About 6 percent of students attending SCF came from outside the region in 2015-16. Some of those students would not have come to the region if the College did not exist. Additionally, a large number of in-region students would have left the area for other educational opportunities if not for SCF. While attending SCF, these students spent $55.5 million for living expenses, generating about $24.5 million in added income in the regional economy, the equivalent of supporting 614 jobs.

In 2015-16 the College employed 993 full-time, part-time and student employees, and 88 percent of those workers lived in the SCF service region. SCF’s payroll was $35.1 million, and much of that was spent on living expenses in the two-county area.

+2015-16 $356.3 million Added to the local economy = 6,342 jobs

The accumulated education and training SCF has provided residents in the region creates the greatest impact. Thousands of SCF alumni are employed in the SCF service region. SCF’s total economic impact is equal to about 1.5 percent of the Gross Regional Product of SCF’s service area. By comparison, that is slightly larger than the region’s entire transportation and warehousing industry. The results of this study demonstrate SCF creates value from multiple perspectives. The College benefits local businesses by increasing consumer spending in the region and supplying a steady flow of qualified, trained workers. It enriches the lives of students by raising their lifetime earnings and helping them achieve their potential, and SCF benefits state and local taxpayers through increased tax receipts and reduced demand for government-supported social services. *EMSI, a leading provider of economic impact studies and labor market data to educational institutions, workforce planners and regional developers, developed this report for SCF. Data and assumptions are based on several sources, including the Fiscal Year 2015-16 academic and financial reports from the college, industry and employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.