The cost of college may be on the minds of many, but a new study raises an important question: How much do colleges actually put back into our economy? When it comes to Carroll University in Waukesha, the answer is $340 million, according to Moscow, Idaho-based market analytics firm Emsi. Carroll’s faculty and staff constitute a $40.5 million payroll, much of which is spent locally. When it comes to students, Emsi reported a Carroll education translates into a return of $3.40 in lifetime earnings for every dollar students invest. That’s an average annual rate of return of 12.4% compared to the stock market’s 9.9% 30-year average annual return. More.