As Johns Hopkins prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary on Feb. 22, its role as Baltimore’s largest anchor institution has never been more pronounced.
Johns Hopkins—the largest private employer in the city and state—delivered a $40 billion economic impact across Maryland last year, including supporting 149,000 jobs, according to an independent analysis by Econsult Solutions Inc.
In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins’ annual economic impact was estimated at $19.4 billion—including university and health system operations that supported one in every five jobs in the city, according to the independent analysis.
“Johns Hopkins is a vital engine of economic growth and regional vitality in every community it serves,” according to the report and the Johns Hopkins Committed to Community website.
The decade-long HopkinsLocal program has powered a significant portion of the benefits that have accrued in Baltimore. Since 2015, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System have combined to spend more than $1 billion with local businesses—prioritizing inclusive hiring of city residents, extensive procurement with local companies, and investments in neighborhoods and community organizations.
“Johns Hopkins goes out of its way to make sure that local companies participate in their projects,” said Jeffrey Hargrave, president of Mahogany Inc., a Baltimore-based commercial construction firm that evolved from a subcontractor to a general contractor thanks to work from Hopkins.
Such local inclusion has been the university’s vision for more than a decade.
“Our success as an institution is inextricably tied to that of the city that we call home,” Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels said. “Johns Hopkins has a unique obligation and opportunity as an anchor institution in Baltimore and Maryland to ensure our spending decisions help our communities flourish, and we are working with our neighbors and partners to make a meaningful impact in our city and state.”
Research alone generates a $10 billion economic cascade across the state, including nearly 38,000 jobs, according to the analysis.
Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, which helps commercialize discoveries, has helped create more than 130 startups through fiscal year 2024 that have raised $4.4 billion in venture capital—43% of which has remained in Baltimore.
In Baltimore, the daily operations of Johns Hopkins University—which employ more than 22,000 people in the city—generated a direct annual impact of $5.4 billion and an indirect impact of an additional $1 billion in fiscal year 2024.
Johns Hopkins Health System operations—which employ nearly 20,000 people in Baltimore—drive a direct impact of $5.7 billion and produce $2.4 billion in indirect benefits. In addition, other Hopkins-affiliated health entities generated $2.3 billion in economic activity.
Additionally, in fiscal year 2024, the Johns Hopkins Health System provided $597 million in community benefits throughout Maryland and Washington—with the majority, $491 million, delivered in Baltimore. Such benefits include direct health services, screenings, free clinics, community building, workforce development, free and reduced medical care, and more.
Capital investments in buildings and infrastructure produce annual direct and indirect economic benefits of nearly $1.3 billion and nearly 6,700 jobs in Baltimore. Over the past decade, Johns Hopkins has committed $490 million with local companies involved in design and construction projects.