A comprehensive economic report, commissioned by Upstate Medical University, shows education and medicine continue to drive the central New York economy.
According to a report by Tripp Umbach, a nationally known consulting firm, Upstate’s economic impact on central New York is $2.8 billion, while contributing $3.2 billion overall to the state’s economy. Paul Umbach, president of the firm, said that state number is up from $1.7 billion in 2008, and he expects it to continue to grow.
“Over the period from 2008 to today, there's been a more pronounced reliance and importance to what Upstate is doing,” said Umbach. “And I would even go as far as say that from now to 2050, this is going to be what drives the economy.”
Overall, local colleges and universities, as well as other medical institutions, including Upstate, drive about one-third of the region’s economy, and 40% in the city of Syracuse. Umbach compares central New York to other cities, like Pittsburgh, that used “eds and meds” to pull out of economic doldrums.
"And over time, the one thing that has held Pittsburgh together is the 100,000 people that work in that neighborhood called Oakland,” he said. “And when I walk around this neighborhood, on this side of the 81, I feel the same kind of dynamism."
The report also shows Upstate significantly increased research investments from 2020 to 2024 by 61%. Umbach expects that growth to continue despite the Trump administration's cuts to the National Institutes of Health, along with other federal funding cuts.
“Upstate has really done a great job of being able to be not just tied only to that funding source and with industry partnerships, and with private philanthropic, county, and state and local investments and donors,” he said. “They're able to continue to grow.”
Among other findings, Upstate’s revenue from clinical services has increased by 53% percent over the last four years. Read more from the report here.
