Useful Stats: 2000 Industrial R&D Intensity, Per Capita by State

U.S. businesses spent $180.4 billion in non-federal funds for research and development in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) annual Survey of Industrial Research and Development. The figure reflects 13 percent growth over 1999 findings and the 47th consecutive year of increases. Federal funding for industrial R&D, however, fell to $19.1 billion in 2000, a 15 percent drop from 1999.

Top R&D-performing manufacturing industries in 2000 were motor vehicles, trailers, and parts ($18.3 billion), pharmaceuticals and medicines ($12.8 billion), semiconductor and other electronic components, ($12.8 billion), communications equipment ($11.2 billion), and, navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments ($10.1 billion).

Top R&D-performing nonmanufacturing industries were wholesale and retail trade ($25 billion), software publishing ($12.6 billion), scientific R&D services ($9.7 billion), computer systems design and related services ($4.9 billion), and, finance, insurance and real estate ($4 billion).

While California and Michigan maintained their traditional 1-2 leadership positions for the total industrial R&D, several changes occurred in the other top 10 slots. Nebraska saw the greatest one year change in its ranking, jumping from 42nd in 1999 to 19th for 2000. Using the NSF data, SSTI has prepared a table presenting total industrial R&D for each state for 1997-2000 and the percent change over the four years <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061303t.htm>. The table reveals 13 states experienced a decline in industrial R&D activity during the period.

More telling, perhaps, is to standardize the geographical distribution of NSF's findings. Considering industrial R&D on a per capita basis shows Michigan slipped from the top state to second, falling behind Delaware. Only three states did not shift positions up or down between the two years. A per capita table presenting industrial R&D across the states for 1997-2000 <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061303t2.htm> also reveals that company research expenditures were more heavily concentrated in a few states — only 13 states were above the $707.02 national industrial per capita in 2000 compared to 15 the year before.

Considering industrial R&D intensity – the portion of the Gross State Product represented by industrial R&D – is another useful measure. SSTI's third table <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/061303t3.htm> presents the state rankings for 2000 industrial R&D intensity, with Michigan, Washington, Nebraska, Delaware and Idaho garnering top honors. A table SSTI prepared last year presents 1997-99 industrial R&D intensity for comparison: <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/041202t.htm>

NSF's detailed statistical tables for the 2000 Survey of Industrial R&D are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf03318/htmstart.htm

The NSF Issue Brief on the survey is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf03306/start.htm