Drake University reports $424.1 million annual economic impact on Iowa

Drake University had an economic impact on the state of Iowa of nearly $425 million in fiscal year 2025, according to a report released by the private university Thursday.

The “Economic and Community Impact Report,” prepared by Impact DataSource, LLC, in working with Drake University, details the financial impacts the university has created through student spending, employment, visitors to campus, community service, tax revenue and alumni contributions, according to a news release.

Total economic impact by the university comes out to $424.1 million, according to the report, spread out across the city, county and state levels, including $270.8 million “value added” and 2,655 jobs.

“For decades, our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and fans have contributed extensively to the prosperity of our vibrant neighborhood and the state we proudly call home — not just from an economic standpoint, but through hundreds of thousands of hours of community service each year,” said Drake University President Marty Martin in the release. “We are proudly ‘of our place’ and driven by our inspiration statement — that together, we transform lives and strengthen communities.”

To create the report, the study used the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Input-Output Modeling System “to calculate the university’s total influence on jobs, earnings, and value-added economic activity,” the releases stated. It relied on Drake University expenditure data and estimates of student and visitor spending.

Drake University generated $12.6 million in tax revenue for the City of Des Moines, the release stated, alongside $10.8 million for the state, $10.1 million for “other districts,” $9.8 million for the Des Moines Independent Community School District and $4.5 million for Polk County.

The report also estimated $31.9 million generated through visitor spending, from 268,000 visitors on 283,588 visitor days in 2025. Athletic events brought in $12 million, $7.3 million directly from the annual Drake Relays, and visitors spent $7.5 million on local lodging. “Various campus visitors” generated $12.5 million, the release stated.

Of the 4,204 students reported in the study, spending generated from the population totaled $54.6 million, according to the report, and $120 million in worker earnings were made by 809 faculty and staff members. More than 27,000 Drake alumni work in Iowa, the release stated, adding an estimated $6 billion to the state’s GDP annually.

Drake students and faculty also provided 246,382 hours of “volunteerism, community service, and pro-bono client work,” the release stated, spanning clinical health services, student teaching, counseling internships, small business consulting, communication and PR and the Drake Legal Clinic and valued at more than $11 million.

While only 43% of Drake students were residents of Iowa during the study time period, the release stated 57% of all Drake graduates stayed in Iowa to start their careers.

“This comprehensive analysis underscores the University’s commitment to being an engaged higher educational institution — serving not just as a center for academic excellence, but as an anchor institution to Central Iowa and a vital engine for local and statewide prosperity,” the release stated.