Colleges in Northeast and Northcentral Pennsylvania generate more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact, according to a report released Monday.
As higher education faces unprecedented challenges, the report serves as a reminder of the sector’s significance, according to the president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.
“These institutions are having an impact on the state's economy. They are having an impact on the vitality of the local communities, and they are having an impact on the trajectory of individual families,” said Tom Foley, president of the association. “This report is a way to remind people of the importance of education, and particularly of higher education, as we move forward in this incredibly fast-paced economy.”
The Harrisburg-based organization represents more than 80 independent, nonprofit schools — including a dozen in the region. Those dozen schools support more than 18,000 jobs, according to the report, analyzed and prepared independently by the Parker Strategy Group.
The report found that schools in the association:
- Employ more than 200,000 people, making higher education among the top employers in the state.
- Have a $29 billion annual economic impact. If affiliated hospitals are included, the impact increases to $65 billion.
- Make up 7% of the state’s economy, when including the schools’ teaching hospitals.
- Educate 53% of all students in Pennsylvania seeking a four-year degree and educate 279,000 students total every year.
- Enroll the largest proportion of lower-income students in Pennsylvania (47%), typically funding the largest proportion of a student’s financial aid package.
The report comes as fewer students choose to attend college nationwide, forcing schools to increase tuition to remain solvent. Eight colleges in the state closed branches or closed completely between 2022 and 2025, according to the State Board of Higher Education.
Clarks Summit University closed last year, and Penn State will close seven of its Commonwealth campuses — including Wilkes-Barre — in 2027. Keystone College, which had feared closure, is now owned by the Washington Institute for Education and Research.
The AICUP report highlights the various impacts of a college campus on a community, from property taxes paid by employees, to volunteer hours given by students and staff.
Highlights of partnership and community impact include:
- Nine of the 15 Small Business Development Centers in Pennsylvania, serving clients in 37 of the state’s counties, are located on the campus of an AICUP member college or university. Schools that host the centers include Bucknell University, the University of Scranton and Wilkes University.
- The Leahy Community Health and Family Center, which partners the University of Scranton and Geisinger College of Health Sciences, provides a variety of services to fill gaps in health, wellness, and education resources for marginalized and underserved populations.
- Lycoming College has provided financial support for major infrastructure projects in Williamsport, including the construction of a new campus music building in the “Old City” neighborhood and the construction of the Warrior Baseball Field in Brandon Park.
- Marywood University partnered in the development of Marywood Heights, a university-based retirement community that combines independent living, rehabilitation and skilled nursing care.
- Misericordia University hosts a variety of low-cost and no-cost medical clinics for residents of the region.
