UCLA is the Greater Los Angeles area's seventh-largest employer and generates at least $9.34 billion in annual economic activity in the five-county region and $9.89 billion statewide, according to a new study.
During the 2005-06 fiscal year, the campus employed more than 27,000 people who earned wages totaling $1.95 billion, and an additional 42,800 jobs in the region were dependent on purchases of goods and services made directly by UCLA and by students, faculty, staff and visitors, according to the study by the nonprofit Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). UCLA's 36,611 students spent at least $423 million on goods and services from sources other than the university, and the campus's 2 million visitors injected $50 million into the economy.
"UCLA is an enormous economic engine in Southern California," said Gregory Freeman, LAEDC vice president of economic and policy consulting and lead author of the study. "That fact often gets overlooked because the economy in Southern California is simply so big - the 15th largest economy in the world. That's just behind Mexico (13th) and Russia (14th)."
Among the findings for the fiscal year ending July 1, 2006:
. For every dollar state taxpayers invested in UCLA, the campus generated almost $15 in economic activity.
. UCLA generated $1.2 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.
. Regional spending by the UCLA, its employees, students and visitors totaled $3.9 billion and spawned another $5.4 billion in indirect activity.
. UCLA spent over $1 billion on operating purchases, generating more than 9,600 additional jobs and $488 million in wages.
State funding constituted about 17 percent of UCLA's operating budget in 2005-06, down from 22 percent three years ago.
"Given the amount of money the state contributes to UCLA and the overall economic impact generated by the university, UCLA looks like a pretty spectacular investment for the state," Freeman said.
Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams noted that UCLA faculty received $821 million in research grants and awards in 2005-06, putting UCLA among the nation's leaders, and that the campus earned almost $19.5 million in royalties and fees from the licensing and commercialization of inventions.
"UCLA faculty are helping to power the economy and improve quality of life through research breakthroughs that pave the way to new medical treatments and new understanding in a wider range of fields, from engineering and nanotechnology to the arts and education and the social sciences," Abrams said.
Not included in the calculations were payments made to the Board of Regents of the University of California and to UCLA itself, thereby eliminating sporting event tickets, parking fees, campus food services and other activity. Because of the conservative methodology, the study authors said, UCLA's economic impact is potentially much greater.
An executive summary of the report and other information is posted at www.ucla.edu/about/impact/economic-impact-2007.
About UCLA
UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer more than 300 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.