In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the most recent year of available data from the Federal S&E Support Survey, nearly 40% of all federal obligations for science and engineering (S&E) to universities and colleges were concentrated in just five states: California, New York, Maryland, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Institutions in California, the state with the highest concentrations of these obligations, accounted for 12% of the total in FY 2024. At the institutional level, there is a similar level of concentration, with five institutions receiving 13% of the total, the 10 largest recipients accounting for 21%, and the 20 largest accounting for over one-third (35%).
This edition of Useful Stats expands upon an article in the prior issue of SSTI's Weekly Digest covering federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges at the national level. What the national picture misses, however, is a look at which institutions are receiving the funds; these are the real drivers of the metric. A breakdown of obligations since FY 1963, both in current and inflation-adjusted USD, as well as an agency-level look at where the funds are from, are still key to understanding federal higher education S&E obligations and can be found in the aforementioned article.
First, SSTI examines the top 100 universities and colleges receiving the largest amounts of federal obligations before moving on to a state-level look at the distribution of obligations for FYs 2016 through 2024.
Institution-level look at federal obligations for S&E to institutions of higher education
Federal obligations for S&E to the 100 universities and colleges receiving the largest amounts account for approximately 79% of that distributed to all institutions in FY 2024. The top five institutions—Johns Hopkins University ($2.3 billion)1, University of Michigan ($941 million), University of Washington ($912 million), University of California, San Diego ($882 million), and Columbia University ($871 million)—account for 13% of total obligations.
The top 10 institutions account for 21% of the total and the top 20 account for 35% of the total but the 50th to 100th-ranked institutions together account for just 20%.
Figure 1 below shows a map of the top 100 colleges and universities in FY 2024, with a toggle for each year from FY 2016 onward. Hovering over any institution will reveal its name, FY 2024 rank, and all obligation values between FYs 2016 and 2024. Specific institutions can also be found via the search under the year toggle.
Figure 1: Federal obligations for S&E to the 100 universities and colleges receiving the largest amounts, FYs 2016-2024
For better comparison between institutions, SSTI has also prepared Figure 2 below, which can accommodate up to five institutions as a multi-line chart. By default, the top five institutions are shown, but any of the top 100 may be selected by clicking the box which reads "Enter series to show" and either scrolling or searching for a specific institution, then clicking to select it. Note that the y-axis will automatically rescale based on the selected institutions.
Figure 2: Federal obligations for S&E to the 100 universities and colleges receiving the largest amounts, FYs 2016-2024
State-level federal obligations for S&E to institutions of higher education
As previously mentioned, there is a high concentration of federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges in a small number of states; nearly 40% were concentrated in just five states in FY 2024: California ($5.8 billion), New York ($4 billion), Maryland ($3 billion), Texas ($3 billion), and Pennsylvania ($2.6 billion).
The bottom 25 states accounted for just 11% of total obligations in FY 2024.
Figure 3 below includes a map of all states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, with a time control for FYs 2016 through 2024. Jurisdictions are colored based on quintiles that adjust for each year's values. This best allows for quick visual comparisons between jurisdictions in the same year.
Figure 3: Federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges, by state
Displaying the same data in a different way for easier comparison of cross-jurisdiction trends, SSTI has prepared Figure 4 below. The trends across states for the period are quite mixed. Note that each jurisdiction's column chart is adjusted to a uniquely scaled y-axis so that overall trends over time can be more easily assessed between states. This Figure is not designed for visual comparison of values between jurisdictions.
Figure 4: Federal obligations for S&E to universities and colleges, by state, FYs 2016-2024
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.