Business R&D performed in US increases

In 2015, businesses spent 4.4 percent more on R&D performed in the U.S. than they did in 2014, reaching $356 billion total, the NSF reports. Of the total R&D expenditures in 2015, companies spent $22 billion (6 percent) on basic research, $56 billion (16 percent) on applied research, and $278 billion (78 percent) on development.

Funding from companies' own sources was $297 billion in 2015, a 5 percent increase from the $283 billion spent in 2014. Funding from other sources was $59 billion in 2015 and $58 billion in 2014. Companies in the manufacturing industries accounted for the lion’s share ($236 billion of 66 percent) of domestic R&D, with most of that (83 percent) coming from the companies’ own funds. That spending was also concentrated in a small number of states. Businesses in California accounted for 32 percent of the $297 billion, followed by Massachusetts (6 percent of the national total), Washington (6 percent), Michigan (5 percent), Texas (5 percent), New York (4 percent), New Jersey (4 percent), Illinois (4 percent), and Pennsylvania (3 percent).

The U.S. federal government was the chief source of external funding for R&D (also referred to as R&D paid for by others) across all industries. Of the $59 billion paid for by others, the federal government accounted for $27 billion, most of which came from the Department of Defense ($18 billion). Ninety-one percent of federal government funding went toward aerospace products and parts; professional, scientific, and technical services; and computer and electronic products.

The data points come from the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS), developed and cosponsored by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.