Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) expenditures grew in every state between Fiscal years (FYs) 2010 and 2024, rising 92% nationally over the 15-year period. However, when you adjust for inflation, five states and Puerto Rico instead experienced a real decline in HERD expenditures. Despite this broad growth, HERD expenditures remain highly concentrated, with five states having accounted for nearly 40% of all higher education R&D expenditures nationwide in FY 2024.
When measured relative to state economies, disparities are even more pronounced; nationally, HERD expenditures totaled 0.40% of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY 2024, a level of intensity largely unchanged over the past decade. At the state level, however, HERD intensity ranged from 1.21% in Maryland to 0.10% in Puerto Rico, with several large economies—including California, Texas, Florida, and Washington—falling below the national level.
The majority of the data used in this article are from the HERD survey. Refer to the survey methodology and notes for more information on the data and its limitations.
A brief overview of HERD expenditures by state
HERD expenditures have increased in every state from FY 2010 to 2024, with the largest relative increases in Wyoming (202%), Delaware (202%), Kansas (150%), Utah (150%), and Georgia (140%). The national total increased 92% over the same period, while the smallest movers include Hawaii (27%), Rhode Island (24%), South Dakota (9%), and Puerto Rico (5%). Adjusted for inflation, these three states and Puerto Rico, along with New Mexico and Kentucky, were the only ones to experience a decrease.
The states with the largest HERD values continued to top the nation’s for the largest dollar increases: California increased by $6.5 billion; Texas by $4.7 billion; New York by $4.7 billion; Maryland by $3.4 billion; and Pennsylvania by $3.3 billion.
Puerto Rico had the smallest dollar increase at $6.8 million, followed by South Dakota’s $11.2 million, Maine’s $86 million, Hawaii’s $86 million, and Idaho’s $89 million.
Figure 1 shows the above trends and more. The data are separated into five quintiles, which is best for comparing states within a given year rather than for one state across multiple years.
Figure 1: HERD expenditures (thousands of USD) at institutions in the standard form survey population, by state, FYs 2010-2024
Figure 2 includes the same data as Figure 1 but is presented in a way that is better for comparing trends within a state over time, or general trends between two or more states. Note that the y-axes are separately generated for each state’s chart.
Figure 2: HERD expenditures (thousands of USD) at institutions in the standard form survey population, by state, with separate y-axes
HERD expenditures are distributed in a consistent yet concentrated manner; since FY 2010, the top five states by HERD expenditures (California, New York, Texas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania) encompassed over a third of the national total (38% in FY 2010, and 39% in FY 2024). Over half of the national HERD expenditures were performed within the top 10 states (56% in FY 2010 and 58% in FY 2024), while the top 25 states were inclusive of 85% and 87% of overall HERD expenditures in FYs 2010 and 2024, respectively.
HERD expenditure intensity by state
HERD intensity, calculated as a jurisdiction’s HERD expenditures as a percentage of its total gross domestic product (GDP), is an indicator of the relative importance of R&D spending by colleges and universities to regional economies. Nationally, HERD intensity was 0.40% in FY 2024, which is an increase over the prior three years and comparable to values in 2020, 2012, and 2010 (since FY 2010, national HERD intensity has ranged from 0.37% in FYs 2015 and 2022 to 0.42% in 2011, with an average and median of 0.39%).
Despite relatively steady HERD intensity at the national level, there is great variation among the 50 states. At the top end, Maryland has by far the largest intensity at 1.21% in FY 2024, followed by Massachusetts (0.70%), Rhode Island (0.65%), and Pennsylvania (0.63%). On the bottom end, South Dakota (0.19%), Idaho (0.17%), Nevada (0.14%), and Puerto Rico (0.10%) have the lowest intensities.
Notably, large economies with low HERD intensities include California (0.35%), Texas (0.34%), Washington (0.25%), and Florida (0.22%) with intensities below the national level in FY 2024. Excluding Texas, each of these states experienced a drop of at least 0.04%, with Washington having dropped 0.12% from 0.37% in FY 2010.
Washington’s drop was the fourth largest of any jurisdiction over the same period, topped only by Hawaii (-0.13%; from 0.48% to 0.35%), South Dakota (-0.15%; from 0.34% to 0.19%), and Rhode Island (-0.22%, from 0.87% to 0.65%).
Rhode Island’s drop, unlike the others, occurred abruptly, falling 0.23% between FYs 2016 and 2017 from 0.80 to 0.57% due to a 28% drop in HERD expenditures before slowly trending up.
These trends and more are shown in Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 includes a map of each state’s HERD intensity between FYs 2010 and 2024, with data separated by quintiles. Figure 4 is inclusive of the same data as Figure 3, instead presented in a way more suited for comparing trends within a state over time, or general trends between two or more states, as the y-axes are separate for each state’s chart.
Figure 3: HERD expenditures as a percentage of state GDP, by state, FYs 2010-2024
Figure 4: HERD expenditures as a percentage of state GDP, by state, with separate y-axes, FYs 2010-2024
This page was prepared by SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Tags: useful stats, nsf, R&D