Economic Impact of University of Rochester and its Affiliates

Publication Date: August 2008

Publisher: Center for Governmental Research Inc.

Author(s): Kent Gardner; Rochelle Ruffer; Scott Sittig

Research Area: Education; Labor

Keywords: Economic Analysis

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

The University of Rochester, the #1 employer in the Rochester NY region, has helped shape the area’s transition from one dominated by manufacturing to one with a greater emphasis on education and health services. A CGR economic assessment of the UR and its affiliates found the impact on the 5-county region is substantial. The report reveals that in 2007 the UR employed about 19,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and paid wages in excess of $1 billion, much of which stayed in the 5-county region.

The report further shows that about 43,000 jobs are associated with the University and its affiliates in the Rochester MSA, either directly or as a consequence of University activity. Although some of this employment is a result of purely local demand, more than 28,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in labor income can be attributed to demand for goods and services from outside the Rochester area. This “traded sector” demand (economic demand brought into this area because of the UR) represents the impact that the UR has on the Rochester MSA that would not exist without the University.