Key Findings

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U.S. Research & Development: Overview

Updated in March 2026 to include the latest NSF data for 2024 and in April 2026 to include revised federal funding projections for 2025-2027.

• Basic research is the foundation of future innovation and progress, with fundamental discoveries very often leading to new technologies and societal benefits. Yet, basic research represents only 15% of U.S. R&D spending, which totaled $993B in 2024. Applied research, which is basic research aimed at solving some problem, represents an additional 18% and the remainder is for development.
• Most basic research and a smaller fraction of applied research is performed by universities and nonprofit research organizations, totaling $126.1B in 2024. The federal government is by far the largest funder of research at these institutions, supporting $63.6B in 2024. This represents 50% of the total, down from more than 70% in the 1960s as funding from other sources has increased.
• We estimate that philanthropy supported $27.0 billion in basic and applied research expenditures at universities and nonprofit research organizations in 2024, up from $26.2 billion in 2023 and representing 21% of the total support. This includes $18.3B in current philanthropy from nonprofit sources and $8.8B in legacy philanthropy (the annual payout from endowments built up from past giving and investment gains).
• Universities are increasingly self-funding their research expenditures through additional non-philanthropic revenue sources such as patent revenue, patient care, tuition, debt financing, and more. This represents $21.2B in 2024, or 17% of the total support.
• We estimate that federal funding for basic and applied research at universities and nonprofit research institutions has decreased from $63.6B in 2024 to $59.9B in 2025 and $60.4B in 2026. If the President’s Budget Request for 2027 were enacted, we estimate that federal funding for research at these institutions would further decrease to $48.7B in 2027, or by 23% relative to 2024.

U.S. Research & Development: By Field

Updated in January 2026 to include the latest NSF data for 2024.

• Most university R&D science expenditures (74%) are for the life sciences (including biological and biomedical sciences), totaling $66.8B in 2024. A much smaller fraction is for the physical sciences ($7.5B or 8%); geosciences, atmospheric sciences and ocean sciences ($4.4B or 5%); computer and information sciences ($4.0B or 4%); and social sciences ($3.9B or 4%). Even fewer funds support psychology ($1.7B or 2%) and mathematics and statistics ($1.2B or 1%).
• The science fields that have grown the most in support over the last decade when adjusted for inflation are computer and information sciences, social sciences, life sciences, and mathematics and statistics. Fields that grew to a lesser extent are physical sciences, psychology, and geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences.
• An additional $19.3B in university R&D expenditures supported engineering in 2024. The engineering fields that have grown the most over the last decade are aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering; bioengineering and biomedical engineering; and electrical, electronic, and communications engineering.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (mostly the National Institutes of Health) is by far the largest federal funder of R&D at universities and private non-profit research organizations. However, support for fields such as the physical sciences is dominated by other federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of Defense.

Graduate Students and Postdocs

Updated in February 2026 to include the latest NSF data for 2024.

• There were nearly 600,000 full-time graduate students (including 322,000 master’s students and 275,000 doctoral students) and 70,000 postdocs in science and engineering in 2024. The most represented fields are the computer and information sciences (mostly master’s students) and the biological and biomedical sciences (mostly doctoral students).
• University sources, including philanthropy, are increasingly supporting graduate students and postdocs in science and engineering. In 2024, there were 243,000 graduate students and 18,000 postdocs supported by institutional sources. By comparison, the federal government supported 84,000 graduate students and 34,000 postdocs in 2024.
• The largest federal supporters of graduate students and postdocs in science and engineering are the National Institutes of Health, which supported 24,000 graduate students and 19,000 postdocs in 2024, and the National Science Foundation, which supported 21,000 graduate students and 4,000 postdocs.
• Across all science and engineering fields, 46% of full-time graduate students and 58% of postdocs were international in 2024. There are notable differences by field: 75% of graduate students in computer and information sciences are international, compared to 44% in physical sciences and 30% in biological and biomedical sciences. Restrictions leading to a decrease in international scholars will decrease the human capital in the U.S., that is, people entering science and technology fields in the future.

By Institution

Newly released in July 2026 with the latest NSF data for 2024.

• Universities in California, New York, and Texas had the most R&D expenditures and graduate students and postdocs in science and engineering in 2024. These states also had the most university R&D support from institutional funds and the business sector.
• Universities in Maryland followed those in California and New York in terms of the most federal R&D funding. Universities in Massachusetts followed those in California and New York in terms of the most philanthropic/nonprofit R&D support. Universities in Texas had the most state and local support for university R&D, followed by those in California and Florida.

Global Research & Development

Newly released in July 2026 with the latest OECD data for 2024.

• China now ranks first in the world in terms of overall R&D expenditures, with $859 billion in 2024 (all numbers in constant 2020 dollars, adjusted for purchasing power parity). The U.S. now ranks second, with $848 billion in 2024. Japan ranks as a distant third, with $204 billion in 2024. These same rankings apply to R&D performed and funded by business.
• The U.S. ranks first in the world in terms of R&D expenditures performed by the higher education sector, with $93.7 billion in 2024. China ranks second, with $72.5 billion in 2024, followed by Germany, with $28.1 billion in 2024.
• The U.S. ranks first in the world in terms of R&D expenditures funded by the higher education and private nonprofit sectors, including philanthropy ($48.7 billion in 2024). The U.K. ranks second ($12.0 billion in 2023), followed by Japan ($10.3 billion in 2024). The U.S. also ranks first in terms of R&D expenditures funded by government ($163 billion in 2024). China now ranks as a close second ($145 billion in 2024), followed by Germany ($47.7 billion in 2023).
• Switzerland ranks first in the world in terms of basic research expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product, with 0.85% in 2023. Korea ranks second (0.75% in 2024), followed by Austria and Denmark (both at 0.60% in 2023). The U.S. is in seventh place (0.50% in 2024). Israel is the top country in the world (6.76%) in terms of all R&D expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product. Korea is second (5.13% in 2024), and Taiwan is third (4.10%). The U.S. ranks sixth (3.44% in 2024).