The University of Colorado system generated $14.2 billion during the 2019 fiscal year for the state’s economy, the university’s Leeds School of Business estimated.

“In FY2019, the University of Colorado was the fourth-largest employer in the state of Colorado, and is among the largest employers in each county of operations,” noted a report the university released last week.

Leeds researchers looked at operating and capital expenditures, estimated student and visitor spending, and the effects of research funding. In the fall of 2019, there were 67,386 students enrolled across the system and 32,386 employees.

“The University of Colorado’s direct expenditures led to $9.7 billion in economic activity in the state of Colorado in FY2019,” the report explained. “The majority of economic activity is, in fact, driven off employee compensation (salaries and benefits). Sliced by function, sponsored programs expenditures (i.e., research) accounted for more than $2.1 billion in total economic activity ($1.1 billion in direct activity) in Colorado, excluding the long-term benefits of scientific discoveries and technology commercialization via licenses, patents, and spinoff companies.”

Nearly six in 10 university employees live in the Denver metro area, with one-quarter living in Boulder. Consequently, the university paid $1.3 billion in salaries to Denver-area workers, more than double the $515 million to Boulder employees. While the majority of student and visitor spending occurred through the Boulder campus, most of the $1.4 billion in sponsored research came through the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.