Economic Impact Report
Economic Impact Report
North Central Michigan College creates a significant positive impact on the business communities in Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet and Otsego counties, where we generate a return on investment to our major stakeholder groups — students, taxpayers and society.

In fiscal year 2023-24, NCMC served 1,168 credit and 1,957 non-credit students, and generated $78.9 million in added income equal to approximately 1.2% of the total gross regional product (GRP) of the region.
EMSI
Emsi is a labor market analytics firm that integrates data from a wide variety of sources to serve professionals in higher education, economic development, workforce development, talent acquisition, and site selection. Emsi is a leading provider of economic impact studies and labor market data to educational institutions in the U.S. and internationally.
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This study, conducted by EMSI, uses a two-pronged approach that involves an economic impact analysis and an investment analysis and calculates the benefits received by each of these groups.
Economic Impact Analysis
Impacts on the Four-County Region economy are reported in the economic impact analysis and are measured in terms of added income.
IMPACT | ADDED INCOME | JOBS SUPPORTED |
Operations Spending Impact | $15.1 million | 226 |
Construction Spending Impact | $1 million | 15 |
Student Spending Impact | $1.5 million | 25 |
Alumni Impact | $61.4 million | 765 |
TOTAL IMPACT | $78.9 million | 1,030 |
NCMC adds economic value to the Four-County Region as an employer of regional residents and a large scale buyer of goods and services. In FY 2023-24, the college employed 210 full-time and part-time faculty and staff. Payroll amounted to $13.8 million, much of which was spent in the region for groceries, mortgage and rent payments, dining out, and other household expenses. The college spent another $7.0 million on its expenses related to facilities, supplies, and professional services (excluding construction). The net impact of the college’s operations spending added $15.1 million in income to the regional economy in FY 2023-24.
Investment Analysis
The returns on investment to students, taxpayers, and society in Michigan are reported under the investment analysis.
PERSPECTIVE |
BENEFIT/COST RATIO |
RATE OF RETURN |
Student | 4.5 | 15.6% |
Taxpayer | 1.5 | 2.9% |
Social | 7.2 | N/A |
- 15.6% - Average annual return for NCMC students
- 10.1% - Stock market 30 year average annual return
- 0.5% - Interest earned on savings account (national deposit rate)
For every dollar of public money invested in NCMC in FY 2023-24, taxpayers will receive a cumulative value of $1.50 over the course of the students’ working lives.
- NCMC generates more in tax revenue than it takes.
- Benefits to taxpayers also consists of savings to the public sector that add another
estimated $1.8
million in benefits due to a reduced demand for government-funded social services in Michigan. - Total taxpayer benefits amount to $19.1 million, the present value sum of the added tax revenue and public sector savings.
For every dollar invested in NCMC, people in Michigan will receive a cumulative value of $7.20 in benefits.
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The Michigan economy will grow by $213.6 million, over the course of students’ working lives.
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Society will also benefit from $5.7 million of public and private sector savings.