The University of Illinois System generates $19 billion a year for the state’s economy and supports more than 164,000 jobs, one of every 46 jobs in the state, according to the preliminary findings of a new study revealed Thursday by U of I System President Tim Killeen.

Through spending by its three universities, employees, students and the increased earnings power of its graduates, the U of I System accounts for 2.1 percent of Illinois’ gross state product, Killeen told University of Illinois trustees in a presentation on the report by Idaho-based Emsi Burning Glass, an international labor market analytics firm. The final version of the study is expected in the coming months.

The U of I System also serves as an investment for its students, according to the study. For every dollar students invest in an education at a U of I System university, including out-of-pocket expenses and income they forego while they study rather than work, students receive $5.20 in higher future earnings. That is a 15.7 percent annual rate of return, compared to the U.S. stock market’s 30-year average rate of return of 10.5 percent.

“These findings offer a glimpse of what an economic powerhouse the U of I System is for our students and for all of Illinois,” Killeen said. “The system delivers in so many ways – jobs for people, research and innovation that supports and even creates businesses, and of course world-class education for tens of thousands every year that enriches civic life and contributes to a better, stronger Illinois.”

The system’s economic impact on the state has grown by 8.6 percent – roughly $1.5 billion -- since the last Emsi study in 2018.

The study analyzes the economic impacts created by the system on the business community, and the benefits the universities generate in return for the investments made by students, taxpayers, and society. The results are based on employee, student and financial data provided by the system.

Some other highlights from the study:

• A growing number of U of I System graduates are remaining in Illinois – 75 percent. That is up from 64.5 percent in FY 17, adding to the system’s impact on the state economy.
  
  
• On average, recipients of bachelor's degrees from system universities who remain in state will earn approximately $67,300 a year, $31,200 more than someone with a high school diploma.
  
  
• System research spending generated $1.3 billion in added income for the Illinois economy in FY 21.
  
  
• Spending by the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health) generated $1.6 billion in added income for the state’s economy.
  
  
• For every dollar of public money invested in the U of I System, taxpayers will receive a return of $3.10 over the course of students’ working lives through additional taxes collected on higher earnings and reduced public costs for health care, social services and the justice system.