Oakland University (OU) and its President Dr. Ora Pescovitz, a Co-chair of the Chamber’s Detroit Drives Degrees, recently commissioned Anderson Economic Group to analyze its economic impact in Michigan and specifically in Oakland and Macomb counties. The report reveals key highlights, such as how in fiscal year 2024, OU generated over $1.9 billion in economic activity and supported a total of 6,417 jobs, including direct and indirect employment. Keep reading to explore the report’s key findings.
DBusiness
R.J. King
May 8, 2025
Oakland University in Rochester Hills had a net economic impact of $1.9 billion in 2024 (FY), which supported close to 6,500 jobs in Michigan, according to a new report by Anderson Economic Group, an economic consulting firm in East Lansing.
The jobs represent direct and indirect economic activity and employment that would not have occurred without OU’s operations, according to the report.
Direct impacts are driven by investments from the university, while indirect impacts reflect how that spending circulates through the economy. The other drivers of the economic impact are spending by students and incremental earnings by alumni.
“I’m delighted that AEG has independently quantified the enormous contributions that OU makes to our local economy,” says Dr. Ora Pescovitz, president of Oakland University. “More of our graduates stay in Michigan than graduates from other universities; they earn some of the highest starting salaries, and they contribute mightily to the quality of life of Michiganders.”
Findings from the report include:
- On average, the median alumni salary from a Michigan two- and four-year college 10 years after enrollment is $42,718 — $15,894 less than the median OU graduate. This indicates an OU earnings premium of 27 percent.
- In 2023, OU’s 80,618 working alumni earned a combined $5.9 billion, of this $1.1 billion in additional incremental income directly attributable to their OU education.
- In FY 2023, OU’s economic activity supported tax revenues for the State of Michigan of $316 million. While the main focus of universities is not to generate tax revenue, OU’s economic impact was nearly 27 times what the university received in state appropriation payments.
- 15,768 students were enrolled at OU in FY 2024. As a result, the university invested over $326 million in university operations and employed 5,511 faculty, staff, and students in Michigan.
“Our intentional investments in our people, our facilities, and our future have generated significant returns not only in educational excellence, but in economic vitality for Michigan. We are proud to be a responsible steward of our resources and a strong contributor to the region’s prosperity,” says Steve Mackey, vice president for finance and administration at OU.
According to the report, the approach applied to assess the economic and fiscal contributions of OU are consistent with those used by AEG for nearly two decades to analyze the contributions of universities around the country.
Assessing OU’s contributions across employment, output, earnings, and tax revenue, Patrick Anderson, CEO of AEG, says: “The analysis shows that OU is a driver of regional economic activity, with alumni contributions and earnings extending their positive influence across Michigan.”
The full report and key findings are available online.
For more information about Oakland University, visit oakland.edu.