MGA’s Economic Impact Increases To $296 Million

Author: Sheron Smith
Posted: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 12:00 AM
Categories: Pressroom | School of Arts and Letters | School of Aviation | School of Computing | School of Education and Behavioral Sciences | School of Business | Students | Faculty/Staff

Macon, GA

Middle Georgia State University (MGA) contributed more than $296 million to the economy in fiscal 2023 – a nearly 3 percent increase over the previous year. Due to on- and off-campus spending during the same period, the University accounted for more than 2,700 jobs. 

That’s according to a study released Wednesday, August 14, by the University System of Georgia (USG). Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, conducted the study. 

As a whole, the USG contributed a total of $21.9 billion to the state’s economy between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023 – a 9 percent increase over the previous year, the study showed. The statewide economic impact of the USG includes 163,332 full- and part-time jobs, or 3.2 percent of all non-farm jobs in Georgia. 

"Middle Georgia State University continues to be a driving force in our region's economic vitality,” said Christopher Blake, Ph.D, MGA’s president. “The economic impact of our institution extends beyond our five campuses, fostering job creation and supporting employment through the spending of our students, faculty, and staff. MGA’s impact on the economy is not the only benefit of our commitment to our core values of stewardship, engagement, adaptability, and learning, but it is a significant and important one that demonstrates the vital role the University plays in uplifting the communities we serve.” 

A companion study to this year’s economic impact report showed that class of 2023 USG graduates who work in Georgia can expect total work-life earnings (in 2023 dollars) of $220 billion, which is $70 billion more than they could expect to earn had they not earned their degrees. Thus, in terms of incremental (additional) work-life earnings, the collective worth of the degrees granted by the USG is $70 billion.   

Some $1.5 billion of that $70 billion is the portion that members of MGA’s class of 2023 would earn over a lifetime, according to the companion study’s estimates. The USG study estimates that graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree will earn $1.4 million more throughout their lives. 

Middle Georgia State is one of the University System’s 26 institutions. According to the report, MGA’s economic impact is primarily felt in the counties where the institution has campuses – Bibb (Macon), Bleckley (Cochran), Laurens (Dublin), Dodge (Eastman, the home base of the University’s School of Aviation), and Houston (Warner Robins). The University’s economic impact is felt also in Jones, Monroe, Peach, Crawford, Twiggs, Baldwin, Wilkinson, Lamar, and Pulaski counties. 

As with the other USG institutions, MGA’s total economic impact considers the University’s spending on personnel and operations, and what students spend. The study calculates the impact generated by the re-spending of those initial amounts – the multiplier effect. 

Read the full economic impact report here: https://www.usg.edu/assets/usg/docs/news_files/USG_Economic_Impact_2023.pdf.