Economic Impact

Cerritos College is an economic engine powering Los Angeles County.

A regional labor market study, commissioned by the Los Angeles Regional Consortium in collaboration with Lightcast, found that Cerritos College grows the local economy by more than half a billion dollars - $537.4 million to be exact. The study evaluates the economic impact and investment returns of the college, highlighting the ways in which we benefit students, taxpayers, businesses, and society.

The Value of Cerritos College

Cerritos College creates value for our region in many ways. The contributions of our alumni and the sum of our spending and current students’ spending adds $537.4 million to the local economy, equaling 2% of the total gross regional product (GRP) for our service area. Our value can also be expressed in terms of jobs supported. Cerritos College supports 5,599 jobs in the region, meaning one out of every 42 jobs is supported by the activities of the college and its students.

Alumni Impact

For our students, Cerritos College opens the door to higher education, and upon completion, career and transfer success. For nearly 70 years, students have studied at the college and entered the workforce with greater knowledge and new skills.

Today, the average Cerritos College graduate earns nearly $11,000 more per year with an associate degree and $30,000 more per year with a transfer and baccalaureate degree. Alumni of our Career Technical Education programs see a 60% increase in hourly wages after completing training at Cerritos College.

This access to upward mobility is in addition to the personal growth and wellness our students experience and the lifelong friends and mentors they gain by being a member of our campus community. Cerritos College’s positive impact leads graduates to remain in the institution’s service area and gain employment in the region.

Thousands of former students are employed in our service area, receiving higher earnings and increasing employers’ productivity, as a result of their education at Cerritos College. Alumni of the college support 4,208 jobs, generating $378.2 million in added income for the regional economy.

Spending Impact

Cerritos College contributes to the economic growth of our service area through our spending. To provide for our 1,000+ employees, we spend $139.2 million on salaries and benefits, much of which returns back to the region when it is spent by our employees on groceries, bills, and household expenses. The college also spends $55.3 million on goods and services for day-to-day operations, as well as invests in new construction. Cerritos College spending supports 1,192 jobs, generating $143.9 million in added income for the regional economy.

 

A Worthy Investment

Cerritos College creates value for our region through the jobs we support and the income we generate for the local economy, but is the institution a worthwhile investment? The answer to that question is yes!

Cerritos College serves an average of 21,000 students annually. These students pay for tuition, fees, books, and supplies, while also giving up money that they would have earned if they chose to work instead of go to college. This investment totals $83.7 million in costs. However, for every dollar invested in their education at Cerritos College, graduates receive $6.40 in higher future earnings. This yields a 23.3% return, an impressive rate in comparison to the average stock market rate of return at 9.6%.

The college also generates more in tax revenue than it receives. Throughout their working lives, Cerritos College graduates earn more money and in turn, pay more taxes. Employers of these graduates then also pay more taxes as our alumni increase their output and purchases of goods and services. Because of the upward mobility our students gained through their education, they are more likely to generate savings on our healthcare, justice, and income assistance systems. The total of Cerritos College’s tax revenue and public sector savings amounts to $240.9 million.

Altogether, Cerritos College’s total benefits to society equal a present value of $3.1 billion. These benefits come from added alumni and business income, added income from college activities, and social savings related to health, justice, and income assistance systems in the state. This means that for every dollar society invests in Cerritos College, Californians receive a cumulative value of $10.50 in benefits for the course of our graduates’ careers. Cerritos College is a worthy investment, benefiting both the region and the state by growing the economy and saving the state money through the improved lifestyles of our former students.

_{*The rate of return is not reported for the social perspective because the beneficiaries are not necessarily the same as the original investors.}

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Fueling the Economic Engine

As a regional economic engine, the college is powered by four levers – Equitable Access, Completion, Career and Transfer Success, and Institutional Health. When put into motion, these levers turn gears (our programs and services) to achieve desired outcomes.

The first three levers – Equitable Access, Completion, and Career and Transfer Success – represent the student journey at Cerritos College, which begins before they register for classes and continues through completion, transfer, and beyond. The fourth lever – Institutional Health – is centered on maintaining our culture of excellence, in which all decisions are made in the best interests of our students. This empowers us to provide our students with excellent programs and services and enables us to attract, develop, and retain engaged and capable employees who embody our mission.

With these four levers in motion, Cerritos College becomes a truly open educational institution that remains a driving force in the economic development of our region. Learn more about our Students First Framework, the plan that fuels our economic engine!