A new economic impact study commissioned by the Albany-based Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) for its members found that Hamilton’s estimated economic impact in the Mohawk Valley for 2018-19 totaled $325.5 million. The figure includes direct spending by the college for wages and benefits, instruction, and operating and maintaining the physical plant.
The study, conducted by the Center for Governmental Research (CGR) in Rochester for CICU, estimated the college spent $5.4 million on construction and that spending by students and visitors totaled $20.5 million based on a statewide estimate. According to CGR, Hamilton employed 870 people and the economic activity generated by the college resulted in more than 920 additional jobs in the region.
“Hamilton has a sizable economic impact in the Village of Clinton and the Mohawk Valley,” said Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach. “In addition to the spending by our students, employees, and visitors, the college strives to patronize local businesses and hire local contractors and laborers.”
New York’s independent colleges and universities contributed $97.6 billion to the state’s economy in 2019, according to the CGR report, an aggregate 10 percent increase over 2017. Approximately 432,600 jobs are supported by private, not-for-profit colleges and universities. That number includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs.
Founded in 1956, The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York represents the chief executives of New York’s more than 100 independent (private, not-for-profit) colleges and universities on issues of public policy. New York State’s independent sector is the largest private sector of higher education in the country and confers 49 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 72 percent of master’s degrees, and 78 percent of doctoral and first-professional degrees earned in New York State.
