October 18, 2023

Univ. of Colorado campuses drive $10.8 billion in economic impact

With inclusion of CU affiliate hospitals, the figure reaches 17.2 billion

DENVER – The University of Colorado and its two affiliate hospitals generated an economic impact of $17.2 billion across the state during the last fiscal year, results of the system’s vital mission to provide outstanding teaching, research, community engagement and health care.

A new study from the Business Research Division of CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business reports $10.8 billion of the total impact stemmed from the four CU campuses, with another $6.5 billion contributed by the two CU-affiliate hospitals – University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado – at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

“I am incredibly proud of what we do on all four CU campuses, and this economic impact is a reflection of that excellent work,” said CU President Todd Saliman. “I’m thrilled to take a moment and celebrate the significant contributions our university is making to serve our great state and help power the Colorado economy. There are so many different ways CU strives to support our state, and we are certainly proud to be a leading driver toward Colorado’s success.”

The study looked at the 2022-23 fiscal year, when CU directly employed 43,255 faculty, staff and student workers earning $3.6 billion in salaries and benefits. The university operated on $5.2 billion in revenue, of which $1.7 billion was tied to sponsored research programs and other restricted fund activity.

CU is among the state’s top five largest employers.

Besides employing thousands, CU helps drive Colorado’s economy by buying from local vendors, attracting investment, educating the local workforce and delivering research discoveries.

Economic impact figures include employee and student worker earnings, operating expenditures, construction, research, and spending by students and visitors. The study did not include the impact of alumni, retirees, athletics and technology transfer.

A powerhouse for discovery, CU collaborates in a research triangle that includes universities, businesses and federal laboratories. CU’s research expenditure activities alone had a $3.2 billion impact last year.

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