These Are The Top 30 U.S. Universities Spending The Most on Research And Development

U.S. colleges and universities spent a combined $71.833 billion on research and development in 2016, increased 4.8%, from $68.567 billion in 2015. Research And Development spending is highly concentrated among the top universities, with the top 30 colleges and universities accounting for more than 42% of all research expenditure among institutions of higher education in the U.S.

For the 38th time, Johns Hopkins University topped the list among U.S. colleges and universities for spending on research and development, according to the yearly National Science Foundation report on higher education R&D.  With more than $2.4 billion in R&D expenditure, Johns Hopkins University ranked number 1 on the list; followed by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with $1.436 billion; and the University of Pennsylvania with $1.296 billion.

Other top spenders include the University of California, San Francisco with $1.294 billion; and the University of Washington, Seattle, with $1.278 billion; the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with $1.157 billion, and the University of California, San Diego $1.087 billion.

The top 30 U.S. universities accounted for 42% of the total spending on research and development.

Top 30 U.S. Colleges and Universities Spending the Most on Research And Development:

1. Johns Hopkins University: $2.431 billion
2. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: $1.436 billion
3. University of Pennsylvania: $1.296 billion
4. University of California, San Francisco: $1.294 billion
5. University of Washington, Seattle: $1.277 billion
6. University of Wisconsin-Madison: $1.157 billion
7. University of California, San Diego: $1.087 billion
8. Harvard University: $1.077 billion
9. Stanford University: $1.066 billion
10. Duke University: $1.055 billion
11. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: $1.045 billion
12. University of California, Los Angeles: $1.037 billion
13. Cornell University: $974 million
14. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $964 million
15. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: $910 million
16. Texas A&M University, College Station: $893 million
17. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh: $890 million
18. Yale University: $882 million
19. University of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center: $852 million
20. Columbia University in the City of New York: $837 million
21. Pennsylvania State University, The University Park and Hershey Medical Center: $826 million
22. The Ohio State University: $818 million
23. New York University: $810 million
24. University of Florida: $791 million
25. Georgia Institute of Technology: $790 million
26. University of California, Berkeley: $774 million
27. The University of California, Davis: $742 million
28. Washington University in St. Louis: $741 million
29. Northwestern University: $713 million
30. University of Southern California: $703 million

Total research spending in 2016 by the 902 universities in the survey increased 4.8 percent to more than $71.8 billion from 2015 to 2016. The top 30 universities accounted for 42 percent of the total.