It’s probably not surprising that the education of a population and its economy are related, but a new study says they’re more closely related than we realize. The study was recently conducted by the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina for the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.

Currently the state of South Carolina (where I live) ranks among the lowest in per capita income, and also has one of the worst education records in the country. The study discovered that if South Carolina reached its long-term goal of having 30% of the state’s population hold at least a bachelor’s degree by 2030, it would have a huge impact on the state’s economy. The study found that if that goal were realized it would mean as much as $6.9 billion in new annual personal income, $7.8 billion in gross state product and nearly 45,000 additional full-time jobs for the state’s residents.

And if you’re wondering what the value of a college degree is, economist at the Moore School Dr. Doug Woodward believes he has the answer. He says that over the course of a career (from about age 25 to retirement) those with at least a bachelor’s degree will earn $1.2 million more than those who just have a high school diploma. That equals out to 8.2 times the amount the average person spends on earning that four-year degree. You can read the entire study released by the Moore School of Business here.