MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr recently underscored the conclusions of a recent study of Middle Tennessee State University alumni’s economic impact, pointing out that his county alone recorded over $4.1 billion in annual business revenue.

“I’m not surprised at the data enumerated in the report,” Carr said in a county news release. The report showed MTSU also generated over $15.2 billion in statewide business revenue each year.

The positive financial impact of MTSU’s graduates throughout Tennessee was detailed in the 2024 MTSU Alumni Impact Report by the Business and Economic Research Center in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. The report also reflected how MTSU, located in Murfreesboro, particularly bolsters the economies of its home and surrounding counties.

MTSU recently released the full report to local and state officials based on numbers from 2022, the base statistical year of the study.

“I can’t imagine a Rutherford County without an MTSU,” said Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce President Paul Latture. “One of the things we do in economic development, when we recruit every single day, we have a leg up because we have a great university in MTSU here.”

Added Carr, a university alumnus himself, “MTSU provides students with an exceptional education experience and the opportunity to become an integral part of the fastest-growing county in Tennessee,” he said.

MTSU alumni in Nashville and Davidson County, including alumni-owned businesses, recorded the second-highest total in business revenue among Tennessee counties (after Rutherford), generating $2.9 billion.

The Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga metropolitan statistical areas had totals of $11.3 billion, $509 million, and $504 million, respectively, in total business revenue impact by MTSU alumni and their businesses.

In 2022, Rutherford County had the largest number of MTSU alumni residents at 32,500. Davidson follows behind with more than 19,300. Williamson, Wilson, and Maury counties are next with approximately 10,000, 6,000, and 4,400, respectively.

“These findings underscore the tremendous and positive, multibillion-dollar economic impact made by our alumni in Tennessee,” said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. “We are particularly proud that most of our graduates remain in our state, adding to the workforce, paying taxes, starting businesses and contributing to our communities.” 

MTSU’s Alumni Association has more than 160,000 members worldwide.