# Economic & Fiscal Impact Analysis > Economist-led economic impact and fiscal impact studies. Jobs, wages, tax revenue, and public investment returns for companies and communities. *Canonical page: https://www.vistasiteselection.com/services/economic-fiscal-impact-analysis/* --- What a project creates. What it costs. What it returns. Vista quantifies the economic and fiscal impact of projects, jobs, wages, tax revenue, and public investment returns, for companies, developers, and communities. Economist-led, IMPLAN-modeled, and delivered through our Development Impact Model, built for audiences that push back. ## Impact numbers face hostile audiences. Councils, boards, and reporters all get a vote. The analysis has to survive all three. ### Economic ≠ fiscal Jobs and wages tell one story; tax revenue against public cost tells another. A project can look great economically and still lose money for the city. Serious decisions need both answers. ### Credibility is the product An inflated multiplier gets torn apart in one council meeting. Vista's studies are built by an in-house economics team on conservative, documented methodology, because a number nobody believes is worth nothing. ### Phases change the math Construction impact, operations impact, and induced spending behave differently, and multi-phase, mixed-use developments compound the complexity. The model has to match the project. ### Numbers need narrative A council member has to repeat your conclusion to a skeptical constituent. We deliver the story with the spreadsheet, public-facing summaries that survive being quoted. ## What We Deliver Site strategy, incentives, and analytics, integrated from day one. No handoffs, no silos. ### Economic impact studies IMPLAN-based modeling of direct, indirect, and induced impacts, jobs, payroll, and output, for facilities, expansions, and events. ### Fiscal impact & public ROI Development Impact Model analysis of tax revenues against public costs, the return a community actually earns on a project or incentive. ### Development scenario modeling Mixed-use, residential, retail, hotel, and entertainment district projects modeled phase by phase, with tax revenue projections per scenario. ### Incentive justification analysis Independent numbers that support an incentive ask, or help a community decide whether one is warranted. ### Public-facing narratives Executive summaries, exhibits, and talking points built for council chambers, press coverage, and community meetings. ### Proposal & RFP support Impact analysis, maps, and workforce validation that strengthen federal proposals, development RFPs, and grant applications. ## How We Work 1. **Frame the question**, Whose decision does this analysis serve, a council, a board, an agency? The audience defines the model. 2. **Build the model**, Project inputs, phasing, and local tax structure assembled into IMPLAN and Development Impact Model runs. 3. **Stress the results**, Conservative assumptions, sensitivity runs, and documented methodology, ready for hostile review. 4. **Deliver the story**, Board-ready reports and public-facing summaries that hold up when quoted, challenged, and repeated. ## Impact Analysis, Frequently Asked Questions ### What is an economic impact study? An economic impact study quantifies what a project contributes to a regional economy: direct jobs and payroll, plus the indirect and induced activity created as suppliers hire and employees spend. Done properly, with industry-standard tools like IMPLAN and conservative assumptions, it turns "this project is good for the area" into numbers a decision-maker can defend. ### What's the difference between economic impact and fiscal impact? Economic impact measures activity, jobs, wages, and output added to the economy. Fiscal impact measures government money, the tax revenues a project generates versus the public costs it creates. A project can score well on one and poorly on the other, which is why communities evaluating incentives or infrastructure investments need both analyses. ### Who needs an impact study? Three groups, mainly: developers seeking approvals, rezonings, or public support for a project; companies making the public case for an incentive package; and communities or economic development organizations deciding whether a project or incentive is worth it. The same rigorous analysis serves all three, what changes is the question it answers. ### What information do you need to run an impact analysis? The core inputs are project basics: expected jobs and wages by phase, capital investment, construction costs and timeline, and for development projects, the program mix, square footage, units, hotel keys, projected sales. We handle the economic data, multipliers, and local tax structures. Most clients are surprised how quickly a credible model comes together once those basics exist. ### How are impact studies used in incentive negotiations? They're the other side of the ledger. Jurisdictions justify incentives by the economic and fiscal return a project delivers, so a credible independent study strengthens the ask and speeds approval. On the public side, the same analysis tells a community what an incentive is actually buying, which is exactly how our Development Impact Model is used. ## Related Reading - [Population projections and residential development](https://www.vistasiteselection.com/blog/population-projections-residential-development/) ## Talk to Vista Need numbers that hold up? Tell us about the project and the audience it has to convince. We'll build the analysis that survives the toughest room it will ever be presented in. Start a conversation: https://www.vistasiteselection.com/contact/ --- **Vista Site Selection, LLC**, data-driven site selection, incentives, and economic impact advisory. Majority-owned by Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. 52 East Gay Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 · Info@vistasiteselection.com · https://www.vistasiteselection.com