By Zac Chapman / Assistant News Director

St. Cloud State University’s regional economic contribution includes an estimated $599 million and more than 4,300 jobs.

University Communications report the results are based off of a study released Jan. 24. The study was authorized by Minnesota State and was conducted by Parker Philips, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in economic impact analysis.

President of Parker Philips Nichole Parker says an economic contribution analysis is an objective way to measure the significance of an organization in the regional economy. She called it a useful tool that policymakers can use to inform their decisions. Parker added the numbers speak for themselves — St. Cloud State clearly is an important contributor to the regional economy.

The study also concluded that St. Cloud State generates close to $43 million in tax revenues for state and local government.

Statewide, all Minnesota State operations, including all seven state universities and 26 community and technical colleges, had a total statewide economic contribution of $8.4 billion and generated more than 62,000 jobs.

The full economic contribution analysis is available at MinnState.edu/impact.