Economic Impact

UC Merced Injects Over $1 Billion in Economic Vitality into San Joaquin Valley, State

January 20, 2026

UC Merced, a beacon of academic achievement in the San Joaquin Valley, is also a powerful driver of economic growth and prosperity in the region it was created to serve. UC Merced generates $1.12 billion in economic production per year in the Valley, according to an...

Venture Lab to Host Conference to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship

The UC Merced Venture Lab is hosting The Woman Entrepreneur, a conference dedicated to educating the community and exploring opportunities for women interested in entrepreneurship in the San Joaquin...

Venture Lab to Launch NSF I-Corps Site for Business Development

UC Merced recently joined the ranks of six other UCs and 70 other universities around the country when it was selected as the newest site for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program...

'Kopi's Hometown Connections' Highlights Merced 2020 Project

Kopi's Hometown Connections, a popular series of features on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, recently visited Merced to highlight the city's many successes, including the rapid growth of its...

Chancellor Dorothy Leland, Mayor Mike Murphy and others at the Downtown Campus Center event.

Downtown Campus Center Celebrates Construction Milestone

UC Merced marked the end of the structural phase of construction for its Downtown Campus Center on June 22 when community partners signed a beam as a symbol of an effort to increase campus and...

Campus Launches Countywide Food and Ag Exchange

UC Merced is taking steps to fight hunger and tackle food waste on campus and across Merced County. The campus has launched CropMobster Merced County, an online food and agricultural exchange and...

Campus Gets $2.2 Million From State to Expand Entrepreneurial Reach

UC Merced’s share of $22 million in state funds through Assembly Bill 2664 will help the campus fulfill some of its primary goals: transforming the region economically and providing people with...

Economic Impact of Campus Rises to $2.6 Billion

Even before its unprecedented expansion through the Merced 2020 Project, the University of California, Merced, has directly contributed more than $1.4 billion to the San Joaquin Valley economy to...

UC Merced Kicks Off Historic $1.3 Billion Expansion

The University of California, Merced, today broke ground on the largest expansion project in campus history. The four-year Merced 2020 Project will add approximately 1.2 million gross square feet of...

New Downtown Facility to Enhance Ties Between University and City

The University of California, Merced, will take a significant step toward establishing a permanent presence in downtown Merced today (June 8), when it breaks ground on its Downtown Campus Center, a...