UW as a Job Creator in Wisconsin
Not only does the UW act as a direct employer to thousands of Wisconsin residents, but it also stimulates Wisconsin’s economy through money spent by its employees, students and visitors each year. UW System (UWS) spending is responsible for 6 percent of the jobs in Wisconsin and $9.5 billion spent in-state annually.
UW System (UWS) in Wisconsin
- Full-time faculty and staff employed — 32,000
- UWS non-payroll spending in Wisconsin — $833 million
- Jobs generated from non-payroll UWS spending — 30,000
- Jobs generated from UW visitor spending — 27,183
- Jobs generated from student spending — 49,0001
- Professional graduates from UWS schools per year — 26,0002
UW-Madison3
- Graduates living in Wisconsin — 133,000
- In-state jobs provided by the campus — 75,000
- Graduates (annually) — 9,000
- Jobs created by the 100 companies in UW Research Park — 4,000
- Average annual salary of an employee at Research Park — $60,000 (double the state average)
The range of experience provided by the UW fosters opportunities for graduates to be prepared for a variety of jobs. As a result, UW-Madison is tied with Harvard for the greatest number of graduates who presently are serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and is the largest supplier of Peace Corps volunteers of any other university in the nation.4
1 Winters, Dennis & Strang, William. “The University of Wisconsin System’s Economic Contribution to Wisconsin.” Northstar Economics, September 2002.
2 UW System. Oct. 3, 2005. www.wisconsin.edu/impact/.
3 Wisconsin Alumni Association, “Points of Pride.” University of Wisconsin-Madison: Madison, Wis, 2005.
4 University of Wisconsin Office of Corporate Relations. Oct. 3, 2005. www.corprelations.wisc.edu/docs/facts.pdf.