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Economic Impact Report

Driving Regional Growth:

NCMC’s $78.9M Boost to Northern Michigan’s Economy

North Central Michigan College generated $78.9 million in added income for Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Otsego counties in 2023-24, or about 1.2% of the region’s gross regional product. From operations and construction to student spending and alumni earnings, NCMC supported 1,030 local jobs, underscoring its role as a key driver of Northern Michigan’s economy.

About The Report

Every number in this report helps explain how North Central's people, programs, and graduates help power Northern Michigan’s economy.

To measure that impact, we partnered with Lightcast, a leading labor market analytics firm formed by the merger of Emsi and Burning Glass. Lightcast specializes in turning real-time data from job postings, worker profiles, and public sources into clear insights about job trends, skills, and regional growth.

Their Economic Impact Study shows how NCMC’s operations, student spending, and alumni success combine to strengthen our community today and for years to come. The findings demonstrate that North Central creates value on multiple fronts:

  • Supporting local businesses through increased spending and a steady pipeline of skilled talent;
  • Helping students raise lifetime earnings and achieve their potential; and
  • Benefiting taxpayers through higher tax receipts and reduced demand for publicly funded services.

Explore the Findings:

See the Infographic Overview

Read the Executive Summary

Explore the Full Report

How The Study Measures NCMC's Impact

The report uses a two-pronged approach — an economic impact analysis and an investment analysis — to capture the full scope of NCMC’s contributions. Together, these methods calculate the benefits for students, taxpayers, and society.

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.

NCMC invests in capital projects each year to maintain its facilities, create additional capacities, and meet its growing educational demands, generating a shortterm infusion of spending and jobs in the regional economy. The net impact of NCMC’s construction spending in FY 2023-24 was $969.2 thousand in added income for the Four-County Region*.

*Note: The construction impact modeled here covers only the initial phases of the CATEE project, representing $22 million in planned investment from 2024–2026. Additional phases will generate further impact not captured in these totals.

About 15% of students attending NCMC originated from outside the region. Some of these students relocated to the Four-County Region. In addition, some in-region students, referred to as retained students, would have left the Four-County Region for other educational opportunities if not for NCMC. These relocated and retained students spent money on groceries, mortgage and rent payments, and other living expenses at regional businesses. The expenditures of relocated and retained students in FY 2023-24 added $1.5 million in income to the Four-County Region economy.

Over the years, students have studied at NCMC and entered or re-entered the workforce with newly acquired knowledge and skills. Today, thousands of these former students are employed in the Four-County Region. The net impact of NCMC’s former students currently employed in the regional workforce amounted to $61.4 million in added income in FY 2023-24.

In FY 2023-24, NCMC added $78.9 million in income to the Four-County Region* economy, a value approximately equal to 1.2% of the region’s total gross regional product (GRP). Expressed in terms of jobs, NCMC’s impact supported 1,030 jobs. For perspective, the activities of NCMC and its students support one out of every 66 jobs in the Four-County Region.

 

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

 

For every dollar students invest in NCMC, in the form of out-of-pocket expenses and forgone time and money, they will receive a cumulative value of $4.50 in higher future earnings.
  • 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.

Society as a whole in Michigan benefits from the presence of NCMC in two major ways.
  • The Michigan economy will grow by $213.6 million, over the course of students’ working lives.
  • Society will also benefit from $5.7 million of public and private sector savings.