Cal Poly Pomona Drives $1.5 Billion in Economic Activity in LA Region
A new study confirms Cal Poly Pomona’s powerful economic return on investment for California, showing that for every $1 invested by the state, the university generates $14.57 in statewide industry activity — including the impact of alumni earnings.
According to the released today, Cal Poly Pomona supports more than 11,000 jobs and generates $1.5 billion in industry activity across the Los Angeles region, underscoring its role as a major economic driver in Southern California. The report details the university’s significant influence on the regional economy through its spending, employment and alumni earning power.
During the 2023-24 academic year, Cal Poly Pomona’s economic impact was driven by $1.03 billion in campus-related spending, which included:
- $437 million in operational expenditures
- $117.7 million in auxiliary costs
- $31.3 million in capital expenditures and
- $444.6 million in student spending
These expenditures supported about 11,000 regional jobs, $638.2 million in wages, and $118.7 million in state and local tax revenue. At the state level, the university’s activities sustained 11,200 jobs, generated $1.6 billion in industry activity, and produced $121.4 million in tax revenue.
Cal Poly Pomona alumni also play a pivotal role in fueling California’s economy. Their CSU degrees generated an estimated $1.8 billion in added earnings across the state in 2023-24, reflecting the substantial economic value of their education and its ripple effect through local communities. That added value supported 9,700 jobs, $689 million in wages, $2 billion in industry activity, and $160.1 million in tax revenue statewide.
The CSU system is the nation’s largest, most diverse and most impactful four-year public university system with 22 universities, 450,000 students and more than 4.3 million alumni. It generated $31.6 billion in statewide economic impact and $2.3 billion in state and local tax revenue during the same year, supporting 210,800 jobs and contributing $13.5 billion in labor income across California.
The analysis, prepared by consulting firm ICF for the CSU Chancellor’s Office, used the IMPLAN input-output model, which measures the direct, indirect, and induced effects of university and student spending, along with the secondary impacts of alumni earnings. Alumni impact was calculated from the incremental income attributable to a CSU degree, considering the share spent in the local economy, and excluding investment income that does not circulate regionally.