IMPLAN Blog

International students have long been important contributors to the U.S. economy, not only through tuition payments but also through their everyday spending in the communities where they study. Beyond classrooms and campuses, international students support local restaurants, retail stores, healthcare providers, housing markets, and more.

But as new restrictions and heightened uncertainty around international enrollment take hold, the potential loss of this spending represents a significant risk to both local economies and the national economy. 

This IMPLAN analysis examines what happens if foreign student spending in the U.S. declines. To account for near-term uncertainty, we modeled the effect of a 10% reduction in student expenditures.

Across the U.S., rural communities hold immense untapped potential, but they often face an uphill climb when it comes to attracting the capital needed to realize it. Opportunities abound in logistics hubs, industrial redevelopment, workforce housing, and renewable energy infrastructure, but many rural projects are overlooked by institutional investors.

Why? Time and again, the same challenge emerges: a lack of clear, localized data.

Environmental responsibility is no longer optional – it’s essential. Global mandates are rapidly reshaping the landscape of climate disclosure, and IMPLAN is uniquely positioned to help organizations navigate it with confidence. In the US and abroad, new regulations require scope-based reporting. IMPLAN now empowers climate-conscious decision makers with powerful environmental data for US-based data offerings, capturing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by industry and region, and connecting them directly to economic impact results.

We’re pleased to announce the release of IMPLAN’s Time Series Data: your key to unlocking deeper understanding with historic consistency.

Time Series Data empowers you to move beyond one-year snapshots and start uncovering long-term economic trends with clarity and confidence. Whether you're analyzing regional economic growth, industry shifts, or policy outcomes, our Time Series Data gives you a foundation to build on.

Designed to provide more accurate, consistent, and transparent economic analysis from 2001 to 2022, our Time Series Data gives you the tools you need to understand economic impacts with more precision than ever before.

Recent economic headlines show a mixed bag for the U.S. economy. According to Reuters, U.S. retail sales fell more sharply in May 2025 than economists expected. Meanwhile, manufacturing output barely moved, reinforcing concerns about slowing momentum. But what do these numbers actually mean in terms of economic impact?

Local events that bring communities together for holidays or regional celebrations often become annual traditions deeply intertwined with an area’s identity. In recent years, however, some localities have halted events like holiday parades, block parties, and July Fourth fireworks due to increasing regulations and rising costs. The immediate savings are beneficial. However, the significant, positive effects these events have on local economies are being lost in the process. While few studies exist regarding the impact of non-tourist, community events on economies, the framework exists to reliably analyze their effects. Before jumping into the event analysis methodology however, there are several factors to assess.

IMPLAN is a platform that combines a set of extensive databases, economic factors, multipliers, and demographic statistics with a highly refined, customizable modeling system. The foundation upon which economic impact analyses are built is the input-output (I-O) model. Understanding I-O analysis and the assumptions they employ are crucial to properly performing and reporting your own analysis.

Manufacturing leaders today face a fast-evolving landscape shaped by workforce challenges, supply chain pressures, and a race against other manufacturing leaders to innovate faster, better, and smarter. Whether you’re evaluating a new site, planning workforce training initiatives, or promoting your region as a hub for advanced manufacturing, one thing is clear: Data-driven decisions are no longer optional. They’re essential.

With IMPLAN, manufacturers, economic developers, and consultants gain a powerful lens into the economic dynamics of regions across the United States. Here’s how you can leverage regional manufacturing data to support strategic decisions:

Recent federal actions targeting Harvard University have sent shockwaves through Greater Boston’s research and education ecosystem. The termination of billions in research funding, the disqualification of the university from future federal grants, and new restrictions on international student enrollment present not just institutional challenges for Harvard, but economic risks for the entire region.

Let’s explore the potential economic consequences of these federal policy shifts, using IMPLAN data and modeling to understand what’s at stake.

While Americans are traveling abroad in record numbers, the United States is facing a concerning decline in international visitors, and the economic consequences could be severe.

According to recent data, inbound international tourism to the U.S. is down 10% year-over-year, with inbound visitors falling 14% in March alone. Meanwhile, Americans are setting new records for overseas travel, with outbound international flights up 1.6% from last March and 22% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. All of this has created a growing imbalance between what international tourists spend in the United States and what Americans are spending abroad.