In February, Penn released its quinquennial report on the University’s local and regional economic impact. The analysis, performed by Econsult Solutions (which also authored the 2005 and 2010 reports) estimated that Penn’s employment, spending, research, and other activities represented $14.3 billion of economic activity in Pennsylvania in 2015, $10.8 billion of which occurred in Philadelphia. Based on the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis’s latest figures, for 2014, Penn’s economic impact represents roughly 2 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, and nearly 3 percent of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area’s GDP. Here are some of the ways all that activity breaks down.
JOBS AND TAXES
37,000 Penn employees
53,400 Indirect and induced jobs in Pennsylvania
$6.4 billion Total salaries and wages in Pennsylvania
$181 million Pennsylvania earned income tax revenue
$163 million Philadelphia earned income tax revenue
SPENDING
$523 million Capital spending on Health System projects
$266 million Capital spending on University projects
$143 million Capital spending from third-party private-sector development
$939 million Federally and privately sponsored research awards to Penn
$572 million Goods and services purchased by Penn from Pennsylvania businesses
$112 million Goods and services purchased by Penn from West Philadelphia businesses
$246 million Local spending by Penn students