THE PROOF IS IN THE POLYTECHNIC. According to an economic impact report released Sept. 1, based on 2024-2025 data, UW-Stout Polytechnic generates hundreds of millions of dollars in additional income to Wisconsin's economy.  (In-progress photo of the new mural at the Menomonie college campus, created as part of the Murals In Menomonie project)

While the University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic officially joined the UW System in 1971, its roots stretch back to 1881 when it was created as a training school. Its founder, James Huff Stout, could hardly predict the significant evolution and impact the school would have 135 years later – which now has a number attached to it, in terms of annual economic impact.

According to a new study – commissioned by UW-Stout Polytechnic and completed by global consulting firm Lightcast, based on 2024-2025 data – the Menomonie university makes an $857.8 million contribution to the state’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year.

Nearly half of that contribution, or $443.3 million, stays within the seven-county stretch the university identifies as the UW-Stout Polytechnic “service area”: Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pierce, Polk and St. Croix counties.

That total regional dollar amount is enough to support nearly 5,800 jobs in the service area. In other words, one out of every 47 jobs in the wider western Wisconsin region (part of the service area) is supported by the activities of UW-Stout Polytechnic.

"Even as skeptics have questioned the broad value of higher education, the magnitude of UW-Stout Polytechnic’s impact proves the value of investing in Stout: From 2016 to 2025, the university’s economic impact on our immediate region grew more than 63% – a dramatic surge in less than a decade."

CHANCELLOR KATHERINE FRANK

IN AN OP-ED PUBLISHED SEPT. 9

In a new op-ed about the report from Chancellor Katherine Frank, she points to the long list of businesses and industries the university's alumni have “founded, transformed, led or continue to lead” as real-world proof of the UW-Stout Polytechnic's impact.

That lineup includes familiar names like Ashley Furniture, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, Trek and more.

Snapshot of the commissioned report's findings (via UW-Stout Polytechnic's website).

The full results – shared across 60 of the roughly 100-page report – are broken down across four areas of impact: Impact of the university’s day-to-day operations, impact of visitor spending, impact of student spending and impact of alumni who are still employed in the Service Area workforce.

The report also measured the benefits generated by UW-Stout Polytechnic for three “stakeholder groups”: students, taxpayers and society.

Lightcast utilized data from UW-Stout Polytechnic’s FY 2024-25 academic and financial reports, industry and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau, various materials “relating education to social behavior,” as well as its own impact model and MR-SAM model.

Crunching The Numbers

$858,000,000

Total income added to the state economy each year as a result of UW-Stout Polytechnic.

9,401

Total number of jobs supported across the state as a result of UW-Stout Polytechnic. 

5,798

Total number of jobs supported in the wider western Wisconsin region (including Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire counties) as a result of UW-Stout Polytechnic.

$1.50

The economic return taxpayers gain for every $1 invested in UW-Stout Polytechnic, in terms of tax revenue and public sector savings.

$1,200,000

Total dollars out-of-state visitors to UW-Stout Polytechnic add to the state's income each year.

"The Economic Value of UW-Stout Polytechnic to the Region" report is available in full online at www.uwstout.edu/about-us/economic-impact-study • UW-Stout Polytechnic is located at 712 South Broadway St., Menomonie