Economic impact was almost $786M in 2023

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) economic impact totaled almost $786 million on northeast Georgia during fiscal year 2023. The impact includes more than $745 million in spending and jobs, a 1.5% increase from a year earlier, and an additional $40.7 million impact attributed to capital construction projects. The annual study of the University System of Georgia's (USG) economic impact measures direct and indirect spending that contributes to the university's service region. 

"We are changing lives every day at the University of North Georgia, preparing our students for what comes next," UNG President Michael Shannon said. "The education they receive at UNG allows them to excel in the workforce and change the trajectories of their families. We aim to offer this transformative experience to even more students in the years ahead as we deliver like never before for our region, our state and the nation."  

Included in UNG's economic impact is almost $273 million in spending by about 18,000 students, which alone created 2,855 jobs in the area. On average, for every dollar spent by the university, an additional 44 cents are generated for the region. 

UNG has campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County. The study area included those communities and the contiguous counties — Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Union, and White counties. Study areas for each school in the report were defined based on the Residence County to Workplace County Flows for Georgia, 2009-2013 from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

UNG also had a regional employment impact of 6,110 jobs in the same period. The employment impact includes 1,893 on-campus jobs. The report noted that on average, for each job created on campus, more than two off-campus jobs exist because of spending related to the institution. 

As a whole, all USG public colleges and universities in 2023 had a statewide impact of $21.9 billion, a 9% increase. 

Conducted on behalf of USG by Jeffrey M. Humphreys, Ph.D., director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, the study also showed USG over the same period generated 163,332 full- and part-time jobs across Georgia. 

Humphreys’ companion study found that USG bachelor's graduates from the class of 2023 on average will earn $1.4 million more during their lifetimes than they would have without their college degree, supporting the value of higher education, especially for high school graduates who earn a bachelor’s degree. UNG academic programs range from associate to doctoral programs, and, among USG institutions, UNG was one of the top degree-conferring universities in 2023.  

"USG continues to be a million-dollar deal for our graduates, and we have the data to prove USG degrees will help them increase their prosperity and success," USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. "At the same time, we are a billion-dollar deal for Georgia. Our 26 public colleges and universities make a significant economic impact by helping to put Georgians to work and sustaining local communities across the state."