San Diego Comic-Con isn’t just a huge event that takes over the Gaslamp once a year for a few days — it’s also a huge boon for the local economy, bringing in millions of dollars in regional impact from attendee spending, as well as jobs and a tourism boost.

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation has posted their economic impact for Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) for conventions that the San Diego Convention Center hosted, generating a record-breaking estimated $1.5 billion in total regional impact for the period.

Of the 80 events scheduled for FY 2024 – San Diego Comic-Con is by far the biggest performer, with a regional impact of $161.1 million alone (a number which keeps rising — compare it to the $147.1 million in 2018, for instance). It is worth noting that this is for the 2023 convention, since that’s when the dates fell within the fiscal year for 2024.

The next biggest regional economic performer was the American Society of Hematology, with $125.4 million in regional economic impact.

Here’s a look at the Top Economic Generators, from the FY 2024 results:

With SDCC’s current contract with the San Diego Convention Center only set through 2025,  findings like this one are important for helping to prove to San Diego at large that Comic-Con is worth fighting for.