The University of North Georgia’s (UNG) economic impact on northeast Georgia totaled almost $786 million 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.
As a whole, all USG public colleges and universities in 2023 had a statewide impact of $21.9 billion, a 9% increase.
The full economic impact and lifetime earnings reports are available online.