Study Lays Out Indy Airport Impact

(photo courtesy Indianapolis Airport Authority)

Officials have released results of a study that peg the economic impact of the Indianapolis International Airport at $5.4 billion. The research was conducted by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute and suggests nearly 22,600 jobs are connected to the airport, contributing more than $2 billion in wages to the local economy.

For every full-time equivalent job at IND, the study suggests, 1.2 jobs are created in Marion County. In addition to the job figures, the report says the airport has an impact on area income, flow of goods and services, professional talent attraction, the convention industry, ability to leverage private investment and serve as a link to multiple domestic and international operations.

Authors say the total contribution is measured by the combination of direct, indirect and induced investments, which can each be considered in terms of
jobs, labor income and output.

The study was paid for by the Indianapolis Airport Authority, which owns and operates Indianapolis International, the Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport – Gordon Graham Field, Indianapolis Regional Airport in Hancock County and Metropolitan Airport in Hamilton County. The scope of the report is limited to the economic impact of IND on Marion County.

You can see additional analysis of the study in the INside Edge e-newsletter this afternoon. Subscribe for free here.