Report Shows Cal State Long Beach Generated Over $1 Billion in Annual Economic Impact in 2003-04

A report released by the Office of Economic Research (OER) at California State University, Long Beach shows the significant impact the university has on the Southern California region's economy as well as the important role it plays as an employer in the City of Long Beach.

During the 2003-04 fiscal year (the most current numbers available), Cal State Long Beach generated an annual economic impact of $1.034 billion in the Southern California area. In addition, between the university and its auxiliaries, 8,162 individuals are employed as faculty, staff or student assistants, making CSULB the third largest employer in the City of Long Beach.

"This is the first time a report has been done specifically outlining the economic impact of Cal State Long Beach on the City of Long Beach and the Southern California region," said CSULB President Robert C. Maxson. "The results of the study prove how vital the university is -- both as an employer and in generating revenues for the local and regional economies."

Maxson also noted that CSULB's economic impact easily justifies the support the state's taxpayers give to the university. In fact, for every state dollar invested in CSULB, the university generates another $4.33 in economic activity, a better-than four-fold return on every dollar. In federal, state and local taxes alone, the university and its employees directly generate $64.8 million.

Prepared by CSULB Professors Lisa Grobar and Joe Magaddino, the report explains that the university's direct impacts are measured by its expenditures on goods, services, salaries and benefits. The presence of the university also leads to indirect expenditures in the region, as suppliers to the campus spend on payroll and materials, and employees and pensioners spend their incomes in the local economy. Furthermore, the economic impact of student expenditures and the subsequent "multiplier" effects of all these factors are considerable.

"Put in other terms, Cal State Long Beach's economic activities generate $2.8 million daily in the region's economy," Magaddino pointed out, averaging out the $1.034 billion. "But the employment impact of the university is equally as significant. While the campus itself accounts for 8,162 jobs, university and student expenditures support an additional 9,060 indirect jobs within the region. That's a total of 17,222 jobs."

The report indicates that university expenditures, both direct and indirect, account for $614.9 million while student expenditures add up to $419.3 million, yielding a total economic impact of $1.034 billion.

"The community understands that the university is important," said Magaddino, chair of the CSULB Economics Department and director of the OER. "They often times don't think of a university as a business or industry, but the reality is this is a big business, and as a big business, it has a pretty large impact on the region. So, even as economists who do these studies frequently, we're a little bit surprised at how large some of the numbers are.

"We're not terribly surprised at the direct impacts because we've had access to that data in one form or another during other types of processes," he added. "The indirect impacts, however, are really pretty sizeable, and those are the kinds of things we really would not look at unless we were actually doing a study."

Media Contacts:
Rick Gloady, 562/985-5454, rgloady@csulb.edu
Shayne Schroeder, 562/985-1727, schroede@csulb.edu