Our Economic Impact

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Created to Serve: Colorado State University’s Impact on the State’s Economy (PDF), was published in January 2009. The report describes the substantial economic contributions Colorado State University makes to the state economy.

Among the significant findings are the following points:

  • Colorado State University and its 87,000+ Colorado-based alumni account for more than $4.1 billion in household income, representing 3.1 percent of Colorado’s total household income.
  • At the state level, these earnings generate more than $130.8 million in income tax revenue and $50.2 million in sales tax revenue.
  • In Colorado, increasing the percentage of workers with a 4-year college degree by only one percentage point (about 5,372 new college workers) increases the average earnings of all college educated workers by $481 per year. But workers without a 4-year degree also benefit from such an increase – the same 1 percentage point increase in college educated workers increases the average earnings for high-school-only graduates by $250 per year.
  • CSU generates more than $300 million in annual research expenditures, which translate to innovation that drives research and technology advances for Colorado business.
  • CSU research results in a two-tenths of 1 percent (0.2%) increase in overall productivity for firms in Colorado, which equates to $79.7 million annually.
  • Annual student spending in Fort Collins alone is estimated at $168 million, supporting 628 non-University jobs in the city. The total CSU effect on local Fort Collins tax revenue is $12.9 million. (Tax revenue consists of sales, property, use, and other taxes.)
  • A four-year college degree significantly reduces the likelihood a Coloradan is unemployed.

Simply put, CSU is one of the state's most important economic growth engines and a cornerstone of Colorado’s economic future. [ download the full report ]