Katy ISD’s 2012 Graduates Impact Local Economy

A recent study by the Alliance for Excellent Education shows that 2012 Katy ISD graduates will have a significant impact on the Houston area economy throughout their lifetime. This year, approximately 4,083 high school seniors graduated from the district’s six high schools: Cinco Ranch, Katy, Mayde Creek, Morton Ranch, Seven Lakes, and Taylor.

Among the findings:

Collectively, Katy ISD’s 2012 graduates are expected to earn as much as $60 million more in an average year compared to their likely earnings had they not earned a high school diploma.

By the midpoint of their careers, these new graduates, combined, will likely purchase homes totaling in value of as much as $87 million more than what they would have spent without a diploma.

They will likely spend up to an additional $3.2 million in vehicle purchases, combined, during an average year.

The spending and investments made by these graduates, combined, will likely be enough to support as many as 360 new jobs in the Houston area, and increase the gross regional/state product by as much as $56 million by the time they reach their career midpoints.

As a result of increased wages and higher levels of spending, federal, state, and local tax revenues are expected to grow as much as $13 million during an average year.

These projections were calculated by the Alliance for Excellent Education using a sophisticated economic input/output model, developed in conjunction with State Farm, which provides economic projections of local benefits based on the number of students who graduate from high school. At the heart of the model is the well-documented fact that high school graduates earn, on average, more money than their peers who do not earn a diploma.

The model, which was created by Economic Modeling Specialist Inc., an economics firms specializing in socioeconomic impact tools, pulls from the most recent economic data available from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics. The majority of the data included in the model is state- and/or metro-area specific, yielding results tailored to each community.