As a resource for Iowa and the world, our impact touches economic growth, personal and public health, and cultural vitality.
Economic Engine
It’s not always easy to measure the contributions of a university—all the ways an individual benefits from a college education, for example, or the ultimate value of a new idea. But in some respects, our impact is clear.
In 2010, we asked the firm Tripp Umbach to assess the economic, employment, and government revenue impact of our University. Their findings, based on fiscal 2009 data, reveal how the UI powers Iowa’s economy:
Big picture
- Annual impact on the Iowa economy: $6 billion
- Return on public investment: More than $15 in economic impact for every $1 in state appropriations
- Jobs created, directly and indirectly: 51,818
- UI spending on capital goods and services: $1.4 billion
Visitors and students
- Direct and indirect expenditures by UI visitors: $208.1 million
- Economic impact from out-of-state students: $380 million, including nearly $144 million in tuition
Research enterprise
- Total research impact: $962.7 million
- Jobs created by research: 6,275
- Estimated impact of research commercialization by 2020: $1.4 billion to $2.4 billion
Community benefits
- Free health care to Iowa residents: $232.5 million
- Charitable donations by UI employees: $24.8 million
- Value of UI volunteer service: $37.5 million
Discover the details at our economic impact web site.
Medical Mainstay
Every day, University of Iowa Health Care changes lives for people across the state and beyond. Together, the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and University of Iowa Physicians comprise Iowa’s only comprehensive academic medical center, and a linchpin in the state’s health care system:
- Patient admissions during fiscal year 2010: More than 30,000
- Outpatient visits at all clinic sites: More than 900,000
- Years on the U.S. News & World Report best hospitals list: 21
- Top-10 ranked specialties: otolaryngology (4th), ophthalmology (6th), orthopaedics (9th)
- Total number of specialties ranked among the top 40 in their fields: 10
- First Iowa hospital to earn the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence (2004) and first to be re-designated (2008)
Learn more about University of Iowa Health Care.