REFLECTS FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024
Report Published: OCTOBER 2025
IMPACT BREAKDOWN
ABOUT GVSU IN 2024
- 22,269 students
- 5,183 graduates
- 145,000+ alumni
- 2,607 employees
- 86% of alumni stay and work in Michigan
- Payroll, research, and operations spending: $910.8M
- Spending by GVSU students attracted to or retained in the state: $308.1M
- Construction spending $32.7M annually +$187M project planned for 2026
- Estimated incremental alumni earnings: $1.8B
- 116k jobs sustained includes 98,880 GVSU alumni living and working in Michigan plus 17,292 jobs supported by the activities of GVSU and its students.
For every $1 invested by taxpayers into GVSU, $31 in income is generated for Michigan
THE VALUE OF GVSU TO MICHIGAN'S ECONOMY
From 224 students in 1963 to 22,269 students in 2024.
While higher education enrollment nationally fell 15% in the past decade, GVSU's growth is steady and stabilized.
On average, GVSU grads earn $27,600 more per year than peers with a high school diploma, adding up to $1.4 million more over a lifetime.
REDUCING LOAN DEBT
2023-2024
GVSU GRADUATES HAD NO DEBT
1/3 LOWER DEBT THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE
RISE IN LOAN-FREE LAKERS IN LAST 10 YEARS
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, undergraduate debt load data.
1 IN 20
JOBS IN MI
$369M
IN TAX REVENUE ANNUALLY
31:1 ROI
ON TAXPAYER INVESTMENT
Nearly 100,000 GVSU alumni power Michigan's workforce - 1 in 20 of all college-educated jobs statewide.
$101 million in state tax revenue
$18 million in local tax revenue
$250 million in federal tax revenue
Each year, GVSU receives $2,000 less per pupil in taxpayer dollars than the state average, despite generating outsized 31:1 returns on taxpayer investment.
