Anchor Economy Initiative

Why Are Anchor Institutions Important?

Hospitals and higher education institutions contribute $1.7 trillion in goods and services to the U.S. economy annually and directly or indirectly support 18 million jobs — 9 percent of U.S. employment. These impacts vary greatly across U.S. regions, presenting different challenges and opportunities.

When anchor institutions thrive, they contribute to healthy regional economies. When they close or merge, the effects are wide-ranging. Better understanding the role of anchor institutions in regional economies can help community leaders and planners make informed choices as regions and anchor institutions evolve.

Anchor Economy Dashboard

The Anchor Economy Dashboard shows the economic impact of higher education and health-care institutions in 524 multicounty U.S. regions. It seeks to answer two important questions:

• What is the economic impact of higher education institutions and hospitals within their regions?
• How reliant are regions on anchor institutions for overall economic activity?

The dashboard includes data on employment, income, and gross value added (the value of goods and services that anchors provide).

The Anchor Economy Dashboard also includes a reliance index. This unique score demonstrates how dependent regional economies are on these institutions.

The dashboard is adaptable to user needs. You can compare all metrics in the dashboard across regions and download data for further analysis.