The Return on an Investment in Education

In fiscal 1997, the state of Washington invested $378 million of tax funding to support the University of Washington's operating and capital budgets.

The University leveraged this investment into an additional $1.22 billion of revenue attracted from a variety of sources, including federal research grants, gifts, and medical center revenues. Almost a third of total UW revenue, or $500 million, flowed into the state from out-of-state sources.

State funding provided 24 percent of the UW's $1.6 billion operating and capital budget. This state support was the crucial foundation on which the rest was built. The pages that follow describe some of the ways in which the Washington economy benefits from the state's investment in its largest university.

Rate of Return:

A Skilled, Productive, and Educated Workforce

Research and the Transfer of Technology to Industry

Top Forty Universities in Total Federal Research Funding

Economic Impact

Did You Know...

Statewide economic activity generated by the University of Washington in fiscal 1997 totaled $3.6 billion, more than 15 times the state's net investment in the University's budget.
UW activities and expenditures in 1997 produced more than 38,000 Washington jobs in addition to the University's own work force.
In 1997 the UW attracted over $500 million from outside the state to support its programs.
The UW confers approximately 9,500 degrees each year. A large majority of UW graduates remain in the state and contribute to Washington's economy.
In the last two years alone, over thirty new Washington companies have been formed to commercialize technologies developed at the UW. Over 130 such companies have been formed since 1960.

President McCormick