n. This total annual benefit of $498 million costs the taxpayers of Idaho about $72 million per year, plus an investment of land, buildings and equipment worth $149 million. If the land and building assets are divided over a five-year period, the combined annual cost to the State of Idaho for operating Idaho State University is estimated at $102 million. SummaryIn summary, the State of Idaho's calculated annual investment of $102 million realizes an annual return valued at $498 million. This is very close to a five-to-one return on investment, if the value of the education received is given an estimated dollar value.A more conservative estimate of the State of Idaho's return on its ISU investment can be calculated by excluding any reference to the value of the education received by its graduates. The direct and indirect impacts of institutional purchases, faculty, staff, and student household expenditures, plus the expenditures of out-of-area visitors and the prorated expenditures for land, buildings, and equipment totals a previously calculated $191 million. Those expenditures alone represent an 87% return on the initial $102 million investment. The realization of the above rates of return on an ongoing basis, year after year, testifies to the significant "profitability" of Idaho State University in addition to its measured economic impact on Pocatello and the State of Idaho. 1INEEL Impacts, US Dept of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 1997; Idaho Income Survey, Associated Taxpayers of Idaho, 1992; and Microvision Market Segmentation System, EquiFax/National Decision Systems, 1998.2The Economic Impact of Northern Arizona University on Coconino County (1995), College of Business Administration, Northern Arizona University, 1995; The University of Virginia's Impact on the Charlottesville Metropolitan Area, Center for Public Service, University of Virginia, 1990.3The Impact of boise State University on the Economy of Idaho, Chuck Skoro, De...
