Companies spent $294 billion on research and development performed in the United States during 2011, compared with $279 billion during 2010 (table 1). Funding from the companies’ own sources was $222 billion during 2010 and $239 billion during 2011; funding from other sources was $57 billion in 2010 and $55 billion in 2011 (table 2). Data for this InfoBrief are from the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDIS), which was developed and cosponsored by the National Science Foundation and Census Bureau.
TABLE 1. Funds spent for business R&D performed in the United States, by source of funds and size of company: 2010–11 (Millions of U.S. dollars)
Selected characteristic
2010
2011
Domestic R&D performancea
278,977
294,093
Source of funds
Paid for by the company
221,706
238,768
Paid for by others
57,271
55,324
Federal
34,199
i
31,309
i
Otherb
23,072
24,015
Size of company (number of domestic employees)
5–24
12,573
10,981
25–49
8,625
10,861
50–99
8,855
9,468
100–249
11,866
12,528
250–499
10,283
12,955
500–999
10,117
10,027
1,000–4,999
48,228
50,485
5,000–9,999
27,463
24,951
10,000–24,999
41,835
49,214
25,000 or more
99,133
102,623
i = > 50% of value imputed.
a For companies located in the United States that performed or funded R&D. b Includes companies located inside and outside the United States, U.S. state government agencies and laboratories, foreign government agencies and laboratories, and all other organizations located inside and outside the United States.
NOTES: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Excludes data for federally funded research and development centers. Business R&D and Innovation Survey does not include companies with fewer than five employees.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Business R&D and Innovation Survey.
TABLE 2. Funds spent for business R&D performed in the United States, by source of funds and selected industry: 2010 and 2011 (Millions of U.S. dollars)
Paid for by others
Industry and NAICS code
All R&D
Paid for by the company
Total
Federal
Companies
All other organizationsb
Domestic
Foreigna
2010
All industries, 21–33, 42–81c
278,977
221,706
57,271
34,199
i
11,013
11,015
1,044
Manufacturing industries, 31–33
196,712
159,579
37,133
26,739
i
3,655
6,375
364
Chemicals, 325
58,038
53,555
4,483
180
D
D
D
Pharmaceuticals and medicines, 3254
49,415
45,398
4,017
99
D
D
D
Other 325
8,623
8,157
466
81
D
D
D
Machinery, 333
9,955
9,384
571
98
176
282
15
Computer and electronic products, 334
59,875
51,223
8,652
5,935
i
911
1,767
39
Electrical equipment, appliance, and components, 335
3,321
3,141
180
84
D
D
D
Transportation equipment, 336
42,913
21,076
21,837
i
20,191
i
1,016
541
89
Motor vehicles, trailers, and parts, 3361–63
D
10,098
D
D
D
D
D
Aerospace products and parts, 3364
29,854
10,152
19,702
i
18,921
i
635
D
D
Other 336
D
826
D
D
D
D
D
Manufacturing nec, other 31–33
22,610
21,200
1,410
251
D
D
D
Nonmanufacturing industries, 21–23, 42–81
82,265
62,127
20,138
7,460
7,358
4,532
788
Information, 51
36,853
36,085
768
152
244
D
D
Software publishers, 5112
26,982
26,387
595
140
134
D
D
Other 51
9,871
9,698
173
12
110
D
D
Finance and insurance, 52
2,109
2,109
0
0
0
0
0
Professional, scientific, and technical services, 54
33,690
15,438
18,252
6,829
6,906
3,801
716
Computer systems design and related services, 5415
11,050
9,416
1,634
712
397
348
177
Scientific R&D services, 5417
12,140
2,851
11,968
3,279
5,344
3,144
201
Other 54
10,500
3,171
4,650
2,838
1,165
309
338
Nonmanufacturing nec, other 21–23, 42–81
9,613
8,495
1,118
479
208
D
D
2011
All industries, 21–33, 42–81c
294,093
238,768
55,324
31,309
i
11,124
12,007
884
Manufacturing industries, 31–33
201,361
163,340
38,021
24,698
i
4,196
8,870
257
Chemicals, 325
55,324
49,988
5,337
110
1,320
3,867
40
Pharmaceuticals and medicines, 3254
45,949
41,111
4,838
52
1,285
3,474
27
Other 325
9,375
8,877
499
58
35
393
13
Machinery, 333
14,709
13,578
1,131
522
423
D
D
Computer and electronic products, 334
62,704
53,664
9,040
5,161
1,087
2,726
66
Electrical equipment, appliance, and components, 335
3,595
3,417
178
76
24
74
4
Transportation equipment, 336
40,880
20,275
20,605
i
D
1,086
D
D
Motor vehicles, trailers, and parts, 3361–63
D
11,737
D
D
D
D
D
Aerospace products and parts, 3364
26,054
7,585
18,469
i
17,806
i
592
D
D
Other 336
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
Manufacturing nec, other 31–33
24,149
22,418
1,730
D
256
D
D
Nonmanufacturing industries, 21–23, 42–81
92,731
75,428
17,303
6,611
6,928
3,138
626
Information, 51
41,865
41,014
851
D
321
D
D
Software publishers, 5112
27,965
27,280
685
136
D
D
D
Other 51
13,900
13,734
166
D
D
D
D
Finance and insurance, 52
3,457
3,310
146
0
145
1
0
Professional, scientific, and technical services, 54
38,219
23,368
14,851
5,848
6,227
2,213
563
Computer systems design and related services, 5415
13,259
11,706
1,553
598
626
209
120
Scientific R&D services, 5417
15,301
6,170
9,131
3,226
3,834
1,833
238
Other 54
9,659
5,492
4,167
2,024
1,767
171
205
Nonmanufacturing nec, other 21–23, 42–81
9,190
7,736
1,455
D
235
D
D
D = suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information; i = > 50% of value imputed.
NAICS = North American Industry Classification System; nec = not elsewhere classified.
a Includes foreign parent companies of U.S. subsidiaries. b Includes U.S. state government agencies and laboratories, foreign government agencies and laboratories, and all other organizations located inside and outside the United States. c Includes companies located in the United States that performed or funded R&D.
NOTES: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Industry classification was based on dominant business code for domestic R&D performance where available. For companies that did not report business codes, classification used for sampling was assigned. Excludes data for federally funded research and development centers.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Business R&D and Innovation Survey.
R&D Performance by Industrial Sector and Source of Funding
During 2011, companies in manufacturing industries performed $201 billion (68%) of domestic R&D, defined as R&D performed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (table 2). Most of the funding was from companies’ own funds (81%). Companies in nonmanufacturing industries performed $93 billion of domestic R&D (32% of total domestic R&D performance), 81% of which was paid for from companies’ own funds. The U.S. federal government was the chief source of outside funding (also referred to as R&D paid for by others) for R&D across all industries. Of the $55 billion paid for by others, the federal government contributed $31 billion, most of which came from the Department of Defense ($26 billion) (data not shown). Aerospace products and parts (North American Industry Classification System [NAICS] 3364), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), and computer and electronic products (NAICS 334) received 92% of federal government R&D funding. Next among funders were foreign companies, including foreign parent companies of U.S. subsidiaries ($12 billion) and other U.S. companies ($11 billion) (table 2) (see “Survey Information and Data Availability” for information on industry classification).
Sales, R&D Intensity, and Employment of R&D Performers
U.S. companies that performed or funded R&D reported domestic net sales of $9 trillion in 2011 (table 3).[2] For all industries, the R&D intensity (ratio of domestic R&D performance to domestic net sales) was 3.2%; for manufacturers, 3.9%; and for nonmanufacturers, 2.3%. Manufacturing industries with high levels of R&D intensity in 2011 were pharmaceuticals and medicines (NAICS 3254) (11.8%), aerospace products and parts (NAICS 3364) (11.3%), and computer and electronic products (NAICS 334) (9.9%). Among the nonmanufacturing industries, industries with high levels of R&D intensity were scientific R&D services (NAICS 5417) (24.4%), software publishers (NAICS 5112) (9.5%), and computer system design and related services (NAICS 5415) (7.8%).
TABLE 3. Sales and employment for companies that performed or funded business R&D, by selected industry and company size: 2011
Industry and NAICS code
Domestic net salesa (US$millions)
R&D intensityb (%)
Domestic employmentc (thousands)
Total
R&Dd
All industries, 21–33, 42–81e
9,107,507
3.2
19,285
1,471
Manufacturing industries, 31–33
5,135,539
3.9
9,998
865
Chemicals, 325
1,157,864
4.8
1,479
160
Pharmaceuticals and medicines, 3254
388,664
11.8
549
107
Other 325
769,200
1.2
930
53
Machinery, 333
392,078
3.8
1,029
88
Computer and electronic products, 334
633,006
9.9
1,408
258
Electrical equipment, appliance, and components, 335
107,583
3.3
347
29
Transportation equipment, 336
850,469
4.8
1,521
145
Motor vehicles, trailers, and parts, 3361–63
562,786
D
738
61
Aerospace products and parts, 3364
231,137
11.3
635
72
Other 336
56,546
D
148
12
Manufacturing nec, other 31–33
1,994,539
1.2
4,214
185
Nonmanufacturing industries, 21–23, 42–81
3,971,968
2.3
9,287
606
Information, 51
916,379
4.6
1,876
232
Software publishers, 5112
293,407
9.5
511
143
Other 51
622,972
2.2
1,365
89
Finance and insurance, 52
942,891
0.4
1,499
26
Professional, scientific, and technical services, 54
443,343
8.6
1,977
270
Computer systems design and related services, 5415
169,229
i
7.8
i
597
103
Scientific R&D services, 5417
62,620
24.4
196
73
Other 54
211,494
4.6
1,184
94
Nonmanufacturing nec, other 21–23, 42–81
1,669,355
0.6
3,935
78
Size of company (number of domestic employees)
5–24
139,361
7.9
457
111
25–49
145,329
7.5
470
77
50–99
169,250
5.6
543
86
100–249
297,813
4.2
1,057
113
250–499
389,954
3.3
1,109
94
500–999
384,006
2.6
750
61
1,000–4,999
1,188,739
4.3
3,064
233
5,000–9,999
1,032,304
2.4
1,916
113
10,000–24,999
1,934,059
2.5
2,689
204
25,000 or more
3,426,693
3.0
7,231
379
D = suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information; i = > 50% of value imputed.
NAICS = North American Industry Classification System; nec = not elsewhere classified.
a Includes domestic net sales of companies that perform or fund R&D, transfers to foreign subsidiaries, and export sales to foreign companies; excludes intracompany transfers and sales by foreign subsidiaries. b R&D intensity = domestic R&D performance/domestic net sales. c Data recorded on 12 March represent employment figures for the year. d Includes scientists and engineers and their managers, as well as technicians, technologists, and support staff. e Includes companies located in the United States that performed or funded R&D.
NOTES: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Industry classification was based on dominant business code for domestic R&D performance where available. For companies that did not report business codes, classification used for sampling was assigned. Excludes data for federally funded research and development centers. Business R&D and Innovation Survey does not include companies with fewer than five employees.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Business R&D and Innovation Survey, 2011.
Businesses that performed or funded R&D employed 19.3 million people in the United States during 2011. Some 1.5 million (7.6%) were R&D employees.[3] Not surprisingly, manufacturing industries with high numbers of R&D employees in 2011 were computer and electronic products (NAICS 334) (258,000 R&D employees), pharmaceuticals and medicines (NAICS 3254) (107,000), and aerospace products and parts (NAICS 3364) (72,000). Nonmanufacturing industries with high numbers of R&D employees were software publishers (NAICS 5112) (143,000), computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415) (103,000), and scientific R&D services (NAICS 5417) (73,000) (table 3).
R&D Performance by State
During 2011, companies reported $239 billion of domestic R&D paid for by the company. Businesses in California alone accounted for 26.8% of this amount in 2011 (table 4). Other states with large amounts of company-funded business R&D, as reflected by the percentages of the national total they accounted for in 2011, were Connecticut (2.6%), Illinois (4.5%), Massachusetts (5.3%), Michigan (5.1%), New Jersey (5.0%), New York (3.8%), Pennsylvania (3.8%), Texas (5.4%), and Washington (5.7%).
TABLE 4. Funds spent for business R&D performed in the United States, by source of funds and state: 2011 (Millions of U.S. dollars)
State
All R&D
Paid for by the company
Paid for by others
United Statesa
294,093
238,768
55,324
Alabama
1,879
835
1,045
Alaska
84
e
52
e
33
Arizona
4,931
3,776
1,155
Arkansas
344
307
38
California
75,035
64,104
10,931
Colorado
4,310
3,642
668
Connecticut
7,504
6,272
1,232
Delaware
2,097
1,453
643
District of Columbia
415
162
e
253
i
Florida
5,988
3,855
2,133
i
Georgia
3,839
3,303
536
Hawaii
252
183
69
Idaho
1,171
871
301
Illinois
12,038
10,764
1,275
Indiana
6,158
5,484
674
i
Iowa
2,314
1,736
578
Kansas
1,509
1,037
472
Kentucky
1,278
1,017
261
Louisiana
459
382
77
i
Maine
295
264
31
Maryland
5,101
2,867
2,235
Massachusetts
15,722
12,712
3,010
Michigan
13,660
12,156
1,504
Minnesota
6,174
5,592
582
Mississippi
235
189
46
Missouri
D
2,818
D
Montana
136
118
18
e
Nebraska
636
601
35
Nevada
638
554
85
New Hampshire
2,069
943
1,126
New Jersey
13,930
11,977
1,952
New Mexico
472
250
223
New York
12,072
9,141
2,931
North Carolina
6,193
5,157
1,036
North Dakota
261
236
25
Ohio
6,993
5,403
1,590
Oklahoma
604
507
97
i
Oregon
4,631
4,415
216
Pennsylvania
9,718
9,018
700
Rhode Island
542
451
91
South Carolina
1,399
949
450
i
South Dakota
136
112
24
Tennessee
1,434
1,279
155
Texas
15,309
12,920
2,388
Utah
2,438
1,874
565
Vermont
374
i
329
i
44
Virginia
5,562
3,138
2,424
i
Washington
14,558
13,659
899
i
West Virginia
247
213
35
Wisconsin
4,053
3,548
505
i
Wyoming
46
e
33
e
13
Undistributed fundsb
D
6,111
D
D = data withheld to avoid disclosing operations of individual companies; e = > 50% of the cell value is imputed due to raking of state data; i = > 50% of the cell value is imputed due to reasons other than raking of state data.
a Includes companies located in the United States that performed or funded R&D. b Includes data reported on Form BRDI-1 not allocated to a specific state. Data reported on Form BRDI-1A, the questionnaire sent to small companies or companies new to the survey, were allocated to the state in the address on the company's survey form, which is usually the company's headquarters.
NOTES: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. Excludes data for federally funded research and development centers.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Business R&D and Innovation Survey, 2011.
Small companies (5 to 499 domestic employees) performed 19% of the nation’s total business R&D in 2011. In these companies, the R&D intensity was 5.0%, compared with 3.0% for all other companies (tables 1 and 3). Small companies accounted for 13% of sales and employed 19% of those who worked for R&D-performing or R&D-funding companies. Of the 1.5 million R&D employees engaged in business R&D in the United States, 33% worked for small companies. By contrast, mid-size companies (those with 500 to 24,999 domestic employees) performed 46% of the nation’s total business R&D in 2011, and their R&D intensity was 3.0%. They accounted for 50% of sales and employed 44% of those who worked for R&D-performing or R&D-funding companies, including 42% of R&D employees in the United States. The largest companies (25,000 or more domestic employees) performed 35% of the nation’s total business R&D in 2011, and their R&D intensity was 3.0%. The largest companies employed 37% of those who worked for R&D-performing or R&D-funding companies, including 26% of R&D employees in the United States.
Survey Information and Data Availability
The sample for BRDIS was selected to represent all for-profit, nonfarm companies that have five or more domestic employees, that are publicly or privately held, and that perform or fund R&D or engage in innovative activities in the United States. Because the statistics from the survey are based on a sample, they are subject to both sampling and nonsampling errors (see technical notes in the annual reports at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/industry/).
In this InfoBrief, money amounts are expressed in current U.S. dollars and are not adjusted for inflation. Company is defined as a business organization located in the United States, either U.S.-owned or a U.S. affiliate of a foreign parent, of one or more establishments under common ownership or control that performs or funds R&D.
For 2010, a total of 42,965 companies were sampled, representing 2,013,448 companies; for 2011, a total of 43,108 companies were sampled, representing 1,964,799 companies. The actual numbers of companies in the sample that remained within the scope of the survey between sample selection and tabulation were 39,968 for 2010 and 39,624 for 2011. These lower counts represent the number of companies that were determined to be within the scope of the survey after all data collected were processed. Reasons for the reduced counts include mergers, acquisitions, and instances where companies had gone out of business in the interim. Of these in-scope companies, 71.4% were considered to have met the criteria for a complete response to the 2010 survey; 69.2% met the 2011 survey response criteria. Industry classification was based on the dominant business activity for domestic R&D performance where available. For reporting units that did not report business activity codes for R&D, the classification used for sampling was assigned.
The full set of detailed tables from this survey will be available in the report Business R&D and Innovation: 2011, at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/industry/. Individual detailed tables and tables with relative standard errors and imputation rates from the 2011 survey may be available in advance of the full report. For further information, contact the author.
Notes
[1] Raymond M. Wolfe, Research and Development Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230 (rwolfe@nsf.gov; 703-292-7789).
[2] Determining the amount of domestic net sales and operating revenues was left to the reporting company, however guidance was given to exclude intracompany transfers and sales by foreign subsidiaries but include transfers to foreign subsidiaries and export sales to foreign companies.
[3] Employment statistics in this InfoBrief are head counts. Full-time equivalent statistics are available in the detailed statistical tables. R&D employees include scientists and engineers and their managers, technicians, technologists, and support staff members who work on R&D or who provide direct support to R&D activities.
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Business R&D Performance in the United States Increased in 2011
Arlington, VA (NSF 13-335) [September 2013]