Emsi, a leading provider of economic impact studies and labor market data, recently studied the impact of Pikes Peak Community College and the others in the Colorado Community College System.

Their approach was to examine the impact by studying what the local and state economies would have been like without these institutions. In other words, it assumes that these students would have been in the workforce anyway, but often working in lower-paying jobs. This report assesses the impact on the regional economy and the benefits generated by the college for students, taxpayers, and society. The results of this study show that PPCC creates a tremendously positive net impact on the regional economy and generates a positive return on investment for students, taxpayers and society.

Both Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers have cited Pikes Peak Community College as a primary engine powering the region's economy, and the numbers from the Emsi study bear that out.