Top-ranked universities spin off new companies, attract high-tech industries and create better paying jobs for citizens of their state.
According to the Association of University Technology Managers, top-ranked universities are more likely to spin off new companies from their research. At least 494 new companies based on an academic discovery were formed in fiscal year 2001 — 84 percent in the university’s home state.
Ranked universities are more likely to attract high-technology, knowledge-based industry to a state. According to a report from the Milken Institute, of the top 30 high-tech metropolitan areas in the United States, 29 were home to or within close proximity of a major research university. All of the top 10 cities are home to or near a top-ranked university.
As a rule, knowledge-based jobs pay more and are less susceptible to recession than other industry sectors. According to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, employee pay in high-tech industries is 67 percent higher than in other industries. Throughout the 1990s, growth in the high-technology sector averaged four times that of the overall economy. (Source: Milken Institute)
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, states with a top-20 university have a greater proportion of their labor force in the high-tech sector (54.9 percent vs. 51 percent in 2000). States with more than one top-ranked university have a far greater proportion of their labor force in the high-tech sector (65.5 percent). By contrast, only 27 percent of South Carolina’s labor force was employed in the high-tech sector in that year.
Startups 2001
Georgia — 6
Ga. Tech — 8
Illinois — 6
Texas — 9
Wisconsin — 3
Clemson — 0
Startups 96-00
Georgia — 36
Ga. Tech — 26
Illinois — 20
Texas — 23
Wisconsin — 22
Clemson — 3