Billions in Federal Funding goes to
Universities and it’s not possible for Universities to fund the total given for R&D. Read USAFacts
How universities use government funding
Universities rely on billions in federal funding each year, much of which goes toward research and development (R&D). In fiscal year 2023, government dollars supported $59.6 billion of R&D expenses. The Trump administration has cut university grants, including millions to Harvard this month. But how do universities use this money?
- In 2023, life sciences and engineering received more federal funding than any other field. About 56.9% of all grant and contract funding ($33.9 billion) went to life sciences R&D. Engineering received $10.9 billion (18.3%).
- At $3.32 billion, Johns Hopkins had the most federally funded R&D expenses — 2.8 times higher than the next university. Forty-three percent of that money went to engineering, and 27.0% to life sciences.
- Twenty universities spent more than a third of all federal R&D money. For 17 of these schools, the biggest share of funding went to life sciences. The University of California, San Francisco, allocated 95.2% of its federal funding to life sciences, the highest share of any school.
- In FY 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Energy (DOE) were the only federal agencies to provide more than $100 billion to universities in grants and contracts.
- In 2025, the DOE announced it would shift funding toward innovation and research projects and away from facility upgrades. The HHS published a list of grants it had terminated, some of which had previously been awarded to universities.
How many people are laid off each month?
Getting laid off is a fact of life for millions of Americans. From 2001 to 2019, there were more than 20 million layoffs per year. But how many people are let go every month, and how has that rate trended over time?
- About 1.8 million people’s jobs were terminated in February 2025, including due to mergers or employee performance. In January and February, there were 3.5 million discharges and layoffs, 2.7% more than during the same period in 2024.
- Due to economic pressures, workers, and technologies, the layoff and discharge rate varies by industry. In February, the rate was highest in the professional services industry (1.9%) and lowest in government (0.4%).
- In January, Montana had the nation’s highest layoff rate (1.7%), while Florida had the lowest (0.6%). See how your state compares.
Data behind the news
Yesterday was Memorial Day, a time to honor the people who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces.
The budget bill passed in the House of Representatives would expand the work requirements to receive aid through the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP). We have the latest data on the federal government’s SNAP spending.
School is out for the summer, but the weekly fact quiz is year-round.
One last fact
Small businesses have a big impact on the economy. According to the latest data, they comprise 99.9% of all businesses and 61% of job growth.