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Economic Impact

Employer

Our most valuable asset is the people who choose to call McMaster home.

We strive to attract, develop and retain the best researchers, faculty and staff in the world.

  • Selected as a Hamilton-Niagara Top Employer for the past nine years.
  • Recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers seven years in a row.
  • One of the largest five employers in Hamilton.
  • More than 14,000 jobs are created as a result of McMaster’s annual operating expenditures in the economy. This includes more than 8,000 faculty and staff who are employed directly by the University.

Educator

McMaster is committed to taking a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to advancing human and societal health and well-being.

Our students gain practical experience linked to their education and career goals through internships, co-op, academic placements, career placements, career planning courses and workshops. More than 100 courses across our Faculties of Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science and Social Sciences support these hands-on student experiences.

Our students are contributing to global knowledge and finding creative solutions to some of our most complex challenges.

Purchaser

McMaster is a major purchaser of goods and services.

Over $100 million in direct spending to local Hamilton businesses and suppliers every year.

Through capital investments made over the past five years, McMaster contributed over $600 million to Canada’s GDP and created over 5,550 jobs.

The includes construction of new facilities, renewal of existing facilities and purchases of furniture and equipment.

Workforce Developer

McMaster plays a critical role in developing human capital.

The University is a source of a highly skilled workforce for the region and its businesses. McMaster alumni are government and business leaders, healthcare workers, engineers, scientists, Hollywood actors, Olympians, Nobel laureates and astronauts.

Below is a few of McMaster’s partners in Workforce Development.

There are more than 244,900 McMaster graduates in 143 different countries around the world.

According to the 2025 Times Higher Education Employability Ranking, McMaster is #6 in Canada and #88 in the world for preparing our students for the workplace.

HondaAstraZenecaIBM
BayerAMDFCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Business Accelerator

McMaster is fostering an ecosystem of innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurism.

Our researchers are making discoveries that contribute to the productivity and international competitiveness of the Hamilton region and Canada as a whole.

For the past five years, McMaster has been Canada’s leading university in corporate research income, attracting nearly $124M from our industry partners last year alone.

Innovator

McMaster’s investments in research and entrepreneurship catalyze innovation throughout the province and country.

From combating disease, reducing environmental pollutants and informing public policy, to supporting innovations in advanced manufacturing, McMaster’s researchers are addressing the most urgent needs of our society.

  • #116 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
  • #30 in the world for global impact
  • #3 in Canada for most research-intensive university
  • #1 winner of the 2018 Global Teaching Excellence Award

Community Partner

McMaster University is proud to call Hamilton home

The University is a key contributor to the local economy and is dedicated to working with our partners to build a more vibrant and successful city. Our knowledge and discoveries fuel the regional economy. We train highly qualified graduates, attract companies, drive entrepreneurship and provide jobs.

The David Braley Health Sciences Centre is a unique university partnership with the City, with co-location of public health services alongside academic family medicine. The McMaster Family Practice is open to anyone without a primary care provider. The Centre now sees over 20,000 Hamilton patients in total.

McMaster Fast Facts

$3.87 billion economic impact on Hamilton’s GDP (KPMG)

569 students participated in work placements in Hamilton

18,000+ student hours dedicated through CityLAB, co-creating solutions that support the City’s strategic priorities

Regional Partner

Since 2010, McMaster has constructed and/or renovated 608,519 square feet of space outside of the main campus.

McMaster’s 300-acre campus is a hub of activity in the west end of Hamilton that houses four libraries, an athletic complex, a nuclear research reactor, a planetarium, the McMaster Museum of Art and many Canadian and world-leading research laboratories. McMaster also has multiple sites in downtown Hamilton along with regional campuses in Burlington, Kitchener-Waterloo and Niagara which help to build a knowledge economy, promote health and wellness, strengthen the local business environment and attract new investment to these communities.

McMaster’s regional campuses include:

  1. Hamilton Westdale Campus
  2. Hamilton Downtown – James St N.
  3. David Braley Health Sciences Centre
  4. Waterloo Regional Campus
  5. Niagara Regional Campus
  6. Burlington Ron Joyce Centre
  7. Halton McMaster Family Health Centre
  8. Grand Erie Six Nations Clinical Education Campus – Brantford Centre
Every $1 dollar invested in McMaster returns nearly $8 dollars to the economy

Economic Impact Report

McMaster’s impact by the numbers

KPMG Management Consulting conducted McMaster’s economic impact study to determine the University’s impact on a local, provincial and national level. With strong academic programming, competitive research capacity, a successful and expansive alumni network, and integration with the City of Hamilton, McMaster’s annual economic impact is $9.2 billion.