Economic Impact

What The Data Shows

Key Findings From the FY 2023–24 Lightcast Economic Impact Study

Tallahassee State College (TSC) is a key economic driver for the region, contributing to job creation, workforce development, and long-term economic growth. By combining an economic impact analysis with an investment analysis, this study demonstrates how TSC delivers measurable value to students, taxpayers, businesses, and the broader community. Findings are based on FY 2023–24 data from Lightcast.

Economic Impact Analysis

In FY 2023-24, TSC added $296.5 million in income to the TSC Service Area* economy, a value approximately equal to 1.2% of the region’s total gross regional product (GRP). Expressed in terms of jobs, TSC’s impact supported 4,214 jobs. For perspective, the activities of TSC and its students support one out of every 64 jobs in the TSC Service Area.

*For the purposes of this analysis, the TSC Service Area is comprised of Gadsden, Leon, and Wakulla Counties.

Operations Spending Impact

• TSC employed 1,459 full-time and part-time faculty and staff. Payroll amounted to $79.3 million, much of which was spent in the region on groceries, mortgage and rent payments, dining out, and other household expenses. The college spent another $56.8 million on its expenses related to facilities, supplies, and professional services.
• The net impact of the college’s operations spending added $125.0 million in income to the regional economy in FY 2023-24.

Student Spending Impact

• Around 65% of students attending TSC originated from outside the region. The majority of these students relocated to the TSC Service Area. In addition, some in-region students, referred to as retained students, would have left the TSC Service Area for other educational opportunities if not for TSC. These relocated and retained students spent money on groceries, mortgage and rent payments, and other living expenses at businesses in the region.
• The expenditures of relocated and retained students in FY 2023-24 added $29.6 million in income to the TSC Service Area economy.

Alumni Impact

• Over the years, students have studied at TSC and entered or re-entered the workforce with newly acquired knowledge and skills. Today, thousands of these former students are employed in the TSC Service Area.
• The net impact of TSC’s former students currently employed in the regional workforce amounted to $142.0 million in added income in FY 2023-24.

Investment Analysis

Student Perspective

• TSC’s FY 2023-24 students paid a present value of $30.5 million to cover the cost of tuition, fees, supplies, and interest on student loans. They also forwent a value of $14.3 million in time and money had they been working instead of attending college.
• In return for their investment, students will receive a cumulative present value of $370.6 million in increased earnings over their working lives. This translates to a return of $8.30 in higher future earnings for every dollar students invest in their education. Students’ average annual rate of return is 23.3%.

Taxpayer Perspective

• Taxpayers provided TSC with $59.0 million of funding in FY 2023-24. In return, they will benefit from added tax revenue, stemming from students’ higher lifetime earnings and increased business output, amounting to $113.1 million. A reduced demand for government-funded services in Florida will add another $13.3 million in benefits to taxpayers.
• Total taxpayer benefits amount to $126.5 million, the present value sum of the added tax revenue and public sector savings. For every dollar of public money invested in TSC, taxpayers will receive $2.10 in return over the course of students’ working lives. The average annual rate of return for taxpayers is 4.7%.

Social Perspective

• In FY 2023-24, the college and its students experienced $161.2 million in costs. In turn, the Florida economy will grow by $1.9 billion over the course of students’ working lives. Society will also benefit from $40.7 million of public and private sector savings.
• For every dollar it cost TSC and its students in FY 2023-24, people in Florida will receive $11.80 in return, for as long as TSC’s FY 2023-24 students remain active in the state workforce.