Recent Studies
2021 SRS Economic Impact Study
The operations at Savannah River Site (SRS) create jobs, generate income, and contribute to the tax revenues across the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) region. According to the recent Economic Impact Study released by the SRSCRO, SRS generated an economic impact of roughly $2.2 billion per year in the regional economy in 2020.
The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been a crucial economic force in both South Carolina and Georgia since it was authorized by President Harry S. Truman and created in the 1950s. Even with employment fluctuations, SRS has remained a major employer in the local economy. As of 2020, there are 11,350 people employed at the Site providing a major source of income for the local region.
The counties most impacted by SRS operations are Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell Counties in South Carolina and Columbia and Richmond Counties in Georgia. Although employment has waned over time as its mission has evolved, SRS remains one of the largest employers in the region. As such, the influence of the Site extends across the entire region as many of the dollars circulating in the regional economy originate from or are related to SRS.
SRS’s impact on the five counties goes beyond the number of jobs and the dollars spent in the local economy. SRS has a ripple effect in the local economy as each dollar spent circulates in the local economy and each employee spends their earnings in the local economy.
The primary purpose of this study is to measure this economic impact on the surrounding five-counties and understand how SRS influences the surrounding communities. To estimate the total economic and fiscal impact of SRS on the five-counties, an economic impact analysis was conducted. The analysis estimates three types of impacts: direct, indirect, and induced. The total economic impact is the sum of the direct, indirect, and induced effects of the SRS operations.
This is the third such study sponsored by the SRSCRO. Previous studies were conducted in 2011 (using 2010 data) and 2017 (using 2016 data). This study used 2020 data to continue to examine the effects on the local economy but also added the impact on just the South Carolina counties and just the Georgia counties. The study was prepared and supervised by Dr. Simon Medcalfe, from Augusta University’s Hull College of Business along with Business Administration students enrolled in his Undergraduate Research class.