Economic report shows tri-campus economic impact 

The University of Washington’s three campuses generate a large impact on the local and state economy through UW community spending. 

By: Michaela Ely

The University of Washington recently released a report detailing its impact across Washington State and the economy in Tacoma, amounting to over $20 billion between all three campuses. 

The report released on Dec. 2 also shared that UWT drives $359 million to Washington’s economy. 

The economic impact was separated into four distinct categories. The total economic impact, operations and capital spending, student spending and visitor spending. Student spending for all three campuses totaled around $1.8 billion. The economic impact was also measured through state and local tax revenues and the number of jobs supported and sustained. 

All three campuses have supported and sustained 111,951 full time and part time jobs throughout the state. UWT’s numbers rose from 1,608 jobs in the 2014 to 2015 school year to 2,277 jobs in the 2023 to 2024 school year.? 

While student and visitor spending are large contributors to the local economy, small businesses have still struggled with inflation and other financial concerns, particularly in Tacoma. 

“I really enjoy my location on the UWT campus. The community and friendships that have been built here are invaluable to me. As far as economics are concerned though being on UWT is a mixed bag,” owner of Metro Coffee Stefani McCullough told The Ledger.  

McCullough’s business sees most of its revenue for the seven months when classes are in session. She loses 60 to 85 percent of sales when there are no classes and the campus is closed. During those times, McCullough has to close up shop to stay open in the long term. 

“I also would say campus has yet to return to pre-pandemic attendance levels as many classes remain hybrid that were once in person,” McCullough said. 

Businesses like the uBookstore, Hello Cupcake, Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max and the Harmon Brewery and Tap Room have all closed over the past couple years, some due to economic hardship and others for undisclosed reasons. Other businesses have remained open but have struggled financially and have sought support from the local community. An example of this would be the “Save The Grand” campaign, a fundraiser that began to help The Grand Cinema purchase its building.  

UWT professor, Dr. Joanne Clarke Dillman, has collaborated with The Grand Cinema in a few film discussions and was on the jury to screen films for the Tacoma Film Festival. 

At the Seattle campus, small businesses have had less trouble staying afloat. The University Village and the U District offer a large variety of restaurants, shops and the shopping center all within walking distance of the campus. 

“Many of the businesses near UW seem to rely on students as their main customer. I know when I visit one of the many boba places on the Ave, most of the other customers are around my age, presumably UW students like me. I don’t think the wide variety of restaurants in the area would be able to exist without the proximity of a large university,” UW Seattle senior Kate Beardsley told The Ledger. 

UW is number five in the top ten of Washington state employers, with the first four being Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. UW supports and houses almost 52,000 jobs in the state. 

The report also looks at the impact of UW Research and UW Medicine in terms of grants received, federal and nonfederal funding, jobs created and sustained and the overall revenue. 

“Without UW, all the money that currently goes into UW would go elsewhere. Many of the students who are being educated at UW would go elsewhere, although surely not all of them,” UWT Professor of Economics Dr. Katie Baird told The Ledger.   

“Same with the research dollars.? The economic impact of UW is best assessed by figuring out the students educated, research performed, and investments made that otherwise would not have happened,” Dr. Baird said. “This is not to say that the UW is not a boon to the regional economy.? It’s that spending the amount that we as a state have on this institution would have had significant economic benefits as well, had it been spent someplace else say on housing, healthcare, green energy, or small business development instead.” 

UWT is planning ways to encourage students to stay on campus to help small business development as seen through this year’s “sticky campus plan” that was announced in September. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Mentha Hynes-Wilson has also stated recently that the Tuesday Food Truck campaign is the first step in encouraging students to stay and invest money in local businesses that aren’t close to campus.  

The Campus Master Plan for 2025 and beyond is currently being formulated to help the administration in achieving their goal. There was also a four percent increase in enrollment in 2024, indicating that more students or their parents were able to pay for a higher education, potentially allowing the university to have enough money to invest in housing and other student needs that could benefit the local economy.