San Antonio Standard

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) generated $2.5 billion for the San Antonio economy in fiscal year (FY) 2021, per a press release issued by the institution.

UTSA discussed the figure in its "Economic Contributions of The University of Texas at San Antonio Fiscal Year 2021 report,” saying it was a 30% jump during a three-year period.

According to the release, the 54-year-old university, which the U.S. News & World Report said educated nearly 30,000 people in the fall 2021 semester, attributed what it called a “significant economic contribution” to its designation as a Tier 1 school, which it achieved two years ago. 

Universities accorded with Tier 1 designation are touted as top research-focused schools in the U.S. 

UTSA’s status has enabled it to obtain more funding for innovative research, as well as grow its advising services to proprietors and entrepreneurs in San Antonio and nearby areas, the release said.

“When you look at cities with strong economies, the likelihood is very high that they will be home to one or more Tier One research universities,” university president Dr. Taylor Eighmy said in the release. “These anchoring institutions have the ability to dramatically fuel social mobility and economic prosperity in their regions.”

Eighmy added that the analysis revealed what UTSA supporters “have known for a very long time.”

“An investment in UTSA is an investment in San Antonio and the state of Texas,” he said, per the release.

Authored by researchers Javier Oyakawa and Tom Tunstall, the report focused on four areas to gauge UTSA’s fiscal impact in the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area (SAMSA), which consists of the counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson, the release said.

The university’s operating expenses yielded a total output contribution of $1.1 billion, with a 106% jump in research spending from $67.8 million to $140 million in a four-FY span.

UTSA said that $298 million of its economic contribution was from out-of-SAMSA and international student spending.