March 10, 2026
A PROVEN, RELIABLE INVESTMENT:
NIH RESEARCH GENERATED $94.15 BILLION IN FY2025 — A 250% RETURN
FOR EVERY $1 INVESTED
NIH Research Funding Supported 390,863 Jobs Nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC – March 10, 2026 – United for Medical Research (UMR) today released the 2026 update of its annual analysis of the economic impact of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding. The $36.58 billion awarded to researchers in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in FY2025 supported 390,863 jobs and generated $94.15 billion in new economic activity nationwide – producing $2.57 for every $1 invested.
“Even amid funding disruptions last year, NIH research continued to deliver extraordinary value for patients and communities across the country,” said Caitlin Leach, President of United for Medical Research. “The return on investment is undeniable – but maintaining that return requires strong and stable NIH funding.”
Every state benefits from NIH research funding. Awards support researchers, lab technicians and support staff, as well as the purchase of equipment, materials and services. The income generated from those jobs and purchases circulates through local economies, driving new economic activity and strengthening communities.
Fewer Grants Awarded in FY2025
Although total funding remained strong, FY2025 saw significant shifts in how awards were distributed. To meet its September 30 deadline following earlier delays, NIH made expanded use of multi-year funding – obligating the full value of certain grants upfront rather than distributing funding annually.
While this allowed NIH to spend its budget, it led to significantly fewer total grants awarded in FY2025:
- 5,564 fewer grants were funded compared to FY2024
- Success rates fell to approximately 17%, the lowest level in nearly 30 years and down from 26% the prior year
- 19 states and the District of Columbia experienced at least a 10% decline in number of awards
A Decade of Economic Impact
Over the past decade, NIH research funding has driven more than $822 billion in new economic activity and supported more than 3.7 million jobs.
“At a time when global competitors are accelerating their investments in biomedical research, America cannot afford to fall behind,” said Leach. “NIH is the foundation of our nation’s biomedical innovation ecosystem – driving discovery, strengthening local economies and delivering new treatments and cures to patients who are counting on progress.”
About the data: UMR’s annual economic calculations assume that the research funding awarded each fiscal year works its way into the economy in that same year. However, as the report notes, the NIH made substantially increased use of multi-year funding in FY2025, whereby it obligates the full amount of the award in the year it was funded rather than only the amount for that year. According to calculations by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), approximately 7% of total grant funding in FY2025 was to multi-year funded awards compared to 5% in FY2024. UMR’s calculations for FY2025 do not attempt to separate out the multi-year-funded grants from those funded in the traditional manner. As in past years, the calculations assume all funding was spent in the fiscal year.
The analysis for this report was performed by Ronald Horst, Ph.D., Inforum. Calculation of the jobs and economic activity resulting from NIH research awards in each state relies heavily on the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS) parameters maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). BEA updates the RIMS parameters annually, although the economic data used lags by two years. Additionally, BEA does a major, “benchmark,” revision to RIMS parameters every five years. UMR’s data for FY2025 was calculated in January 2026 using the most recently published RIMS parameters at that time, which rely on economic data for calendar year 2023. The data shown here for years FY2016-FY2024 were calculated using earlier versions of BEA’s RIMS parameters or approximations for those years. Given the way the RIMS parameters change over time, the data presented here should be viewed as a series of snapshots of the economic effects of NIH funding in each year.
Additional Resources: Graphics, state-specific resources, including lists of NIH FY25 grant recipients, fact sheets and other materials are available in this TOOLKIT.
UMR is a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry seeking strong and sustainable increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health in order to save and improve lives, advance innovation and fuel the economy. Learn more at unitedformedicalresearch.org.