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| A new study found the USC student population spends $406 million annually. The university is also the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Study Finds USC Worth $4 Billion Annually to L.A. County
by Evan George
Last week, while the campus continued to mourn the loss to football rivals UCLA, officials at the University of Southern California announced the results of an economic study that may well put the feather back in USC's Trojan helmet.
The university is the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles and is responsible for $4 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County, according to the report released Wednesday, Dec. 6. The study was commissioned by USC and conducted by the firm Economics Research Associates.
The results of the study spell good news for the Downtown area as well, said local figures.
The USC student population spends $406 million yearly and visitors to the campus add another $12.3 million, the study found. More of the non-payroll expenditure gets spent in Downtown than anywhere else in Los Angeles.
Experts say the study confirmed what they already knew - that the university is a major economic force in Southern California. However, they said the numbers exceeded all assumptions.
"To be one one-hundredth of a percent of the state of California's economy is pretty significant," said David Bergman, principal for Economics Research Associates.
The report is the most comprehensive analysis of the university's spending power ever conducted, said Bing Cherrie, associate vice president of planning for USC.
"We've never really looked at it quite as completely before in terms of the impact on the economy," said Cherrie.
"We told USC, 'Give us all of your payroll, everyone you write a check to, give it to us by ZIP code, give us every good or service that you either write a check for or reimburse... and tell us what you spend on capital construction,'" said Bergman.
The findings will influence the decisions of the school's planning department and affect how the university grows, Cherrie said. USC has embarked on major building campaigns in recent years at its University Park Campus and its Health Sciences Campus northeast of Downtown. In October the school opened the $140 million Galen Center arena at Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard.
"We are in a planning process, a master plan process," said Cherrie. "We're looking out 20 or 25 years and part of that is understanding our role in the region and in our neighborhoods."
The results with the most impact on Downtown's economy are non-payroll expenditures - revenue generated by the spending of the university's students, staff and visitors. The report broke such spending down by council district, showing that more revenue graced the Downtown City Council districts than any other.
Councilwoman Jan Perry's Ninth District topped the list with $12.5 million, nearly 18% of the total, while Councilman Jos� Huizar's 14th District recorded $9.7 million, or 13.6%, according to the study.
"The money is being spent in Downtown and that is important because it is creating revenue for small businesses," said Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. "It's creating jobs in and around the Downtown area. It's an important little engine for the economy."
"With Downtown that [revenue] could be business services, it could be office supplies, it could be anything," Bergman said of the expenditures.
The connection to major Downtown revenue may signal the university's growing connection to the area, and shrinking distance from its businesses, as development along the Figueroa Corridor makes the campus the southern frontier of Downtown.
"There was always this talk of Los Angeles having a T-shape," said Kyser. "The long part of the 'T' would be Wilshire Boulevard from Santa Monica into Downtown and the head of the 'T' would be from Dodger Stadium down to USC.
"Guess what? The 'T' is taking shape," Kyser continued. "In fact, the head of the 'T' is probably further along than anyone imagined."
Contact Evan George at evan@downtownnews.com.
page 7, 12/11/2006
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
The university is the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles and is responsible for $4 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County, according to the report released Wednesday, Dec. 6. The study was commissioned by USC and conducted by the firm Economics Research Associates.
The results of the study spell good news for the Downtown area as well, said local figures.
The USC student population spends $406 million yearly and visitors to the campus add another $12.3 million, the study found. More of the non-payroll expenditure gets spent in Downtown than anywhere else in Los Angeles.
Experts say the study confirmed what they already knew - that the university is a major economic force in Southern California. However, they said the numbers exceeded all assumptions.
"To be one one-hundredth of a percent of the state of California's economy is pretty significant," said David Bergman, principal for Economics Research Associates.
The report is the most comprehensive analysis of the university's spending power ever conducted, said Bing Cherrie, associate vice president of planning for USC.
"We've never really looked at it quite as completely before in terms of the impact on the economy," said Cherrie.
"We told USC, 'Give us all of your payroll, everyone you write a check to, give it to us by ZIP code, give us every good or service that you either write a check for or reimburse... and tell us what you spend on capital construction,'" said Bergman.
The findings will influence the decisions of the school's planning department and affect how the university grows, Cherrie said. USC has embarked on major building campaigns in recent years at its University Park Campus and its Health Sciences Campus northeast of Downtown. In October the school opened the $140 million Galen Center arena at Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard.
"We are in a planning process, a master plan process," said Cherrie. "We're looking out 20 or 25 years and part of that is understanding our role in the region and in our neighborhoods."
The results with the most impact on Downtown's economy are non-payroll expenditures - revenue generated by the spending of the university's students, staff and visitors. The report broke such spending down by council district, showing that more revenue graced the Downtown City Council districts than any other.
Councilwoman Jan Perry's Ninth District topped the list with $12.5 million, nearly 18% of the total, while Councilman Jos� Huizar's 14th District recorded $9.7 million, or 13.6%, according to the study.
"The money is being spent in Downtown and that is important because it is creating revenue for small businesses," said Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. "It's creating jobs in and around the Downtown area. It's an important little engine for the economy."
"With Downtown that [revenue] could be business services, it could be office supplies, it could be anything," Bergman said of the expenditures.
The connection to major Downtown revenue may signal the university's growing connection to the area, and shrinking distance from its businesses, as development along the Figueroa Corridor makes the campus the southern frontier of Downtown.
"There was always this talk of Los Angeles having a T-shape," said Kyser. "The long part of the 'T' would be Wilshire Boulevard from Santa Monica into Downtown and the head of the 'T' would be from Dodger Stadium down to USC.
"Guess what? The 'T' is taking shape," Kyser continued. "In fact, the head of the 'T' is probably further along than anyone imagined."
Contact Evan George at evan@downtownnews.com.
page 7, 12/11/2006
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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