The latest economic impact report for the University of California, Davis, shows that the university is an economic driver for the Sacramento region and for California, generating $8.1 billion in statewide economic activity in fiscal year 2013-14 and supporting 72,000 jobs. The report, prepared for the university by Economic & Planning Systems Inc., is available online.

“By any measure one chooses, it’s clear that UC Davis pays big dividends to California and to its taxpayers,” said Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. “We know education and innovation are key to economic growth in the 21st century and as this report shows, we work hard to be at the forefront on both counts.”

The economic analysis includes three elements: direct expenditures and employment by UC Davis itself, students and visitors; indirect spending and jobs resulting from demand for goods and services as a result of direct activity by the university; and economic activity induced by spending by UC Davis employees.

The analysis found that in fiscal year 2013-14, every dollar spent by UC Davis generated an additional 80 cents of economic activity in the Sacramento region, and one job was created in the region for every two university jobs.  

Overall, the university generated $6.8 billion in economic output and 65,000 jobs in the seven-county Sacramento region (Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yuba and Solano counties). Statewide, the total economic impact equates to 72,000 jobs and $8.1 billion of economic output annually, according to the analysis. UC Davis’ two campuses are second only to the state of California as the largest employer in the Sacramento region, and the Davis campus is the largest employer in Yolo County.

Other highlights of the report

• In fiscal year 2013-14, UC Davis had 40,000 employees and direct expenditures of $3.5 billion to support academic, research and clinical activities. The university’s 34,000 students and 3.2 million visitors directly supported $429 million in spending in the local economy.
• The estimated “multiplier effect” of UC Davis generates an estimated $3.1 billion of economic output and 23,000 jobs through its demand on suppliers of goods and services and employee spending in the regional economy. 

• The total output of UC Davis is equivalent to 4 percent of regional economic impact and 3 percent of all jobs in the region.
• The UC Davis Health System, composed of the UC Davis School of Medicine, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, UC Davis Medical Center, and UC Davis Medical Group, directly contributes roughly $2.2 billion of economic output and 13,000 jobs to the regional economy annually as a result of its educational, research, and clinical operations, as well as associated student and visitor spending. Including indirect effects and employee spending, UC Davis Health System’s total economic impact equates to more than $3.9 billion and 25,000 jobs, almost 2 percent of the entire Davis-Sacramento regional economy.