California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo research and development spending, FY2024
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Public
- Standard form filer
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in FY2024
$38.1 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #252 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 6.4%
- Rank change
- down 4
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo reported $38.1 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #252 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 6.4% on FY2023's $35.8 million; its national rank was down 4 places. Institution funds is its largest funding source at 38.4% ($14.7 million), followed by federal government at 37.3%. Its largest field of research is life sciences, $12.7 million or 33.3% of the total.
Over time
Research spending, FY2010 to FY2024
Standard-form totals FY2010 onwards as revised by NCSES in the newest release; rank is within that series.
Year-by-year figures
| Fiscal year | R&D expenditure | Rank in series |
|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | $19.7 million | 259 |
| FY2011 | $16.5 million | 278 |
| FY2012 | $17.4 million | 273 |
| FY2013 | $16.1 million | 278 |
| FY2014 | $15.1 million | 281 |
| FY2015 | $16.3 million | 275 |
| FY2016 | $18.1 million | 274 |
| FY2017 | $18.0 million | 272 |
| FY2018 | $16.4 million | 287 |
| FY2019 | $25.2 million | 249 |
| FY2020 | $26.6 million | 242 |
| FY2021 | $26.0 million | 248 |
| FY2022 | $33.2 million | 240 |
| FY2023 | $35.8 million | 248 |
| FY2024 | $38.1 million | 252 |
FY2024 breakdown
Where the money came from, and what it paid for
FY2024 funding sources and research fields
Funding sources
The 6 NSF funding sources California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo reported in FY2024, largest first. Shares are of its own FY2024 total, and the rank is national within that source.
| Source | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institution funds | $14.7 million | 38.4% | +16.8% | 232 |
| Federal government | $14.2 million | 37.3% | −3.9% | 271 |
| State and local government | $6.3 million | 16.6% | +26.5% | 152 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $2.1 million | 5.4% | −4.8% | 219 |
| Business | $777 thousand | 2.0% | −35.5% | 256 |
| All other sources | $63 thousand | 0.2% | −26.7% | 376 |
| All sources | $38.1 million | 100.0% | +6.4% | 252 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life sciences | $12.7 million | 33.3% | +16.1% | 241 |
| Engineering | $7.3 million | 19.0% | −21.0% | 206 |
| Physical sciences | $6.0 million | 15.7% | +19.4% | 174 |
| Non-S&E | $5.5 million | 14.5% | +4.6% | 219 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $3.3 million | 8.7% | +10.3% | 74 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $2.1 million | 5.6% | +21.4% | 187 |
| Social sciences | $675 thousand | 1.8% | +45.8% | 279 |
| Computer and information sciences | $458 thousand | 1.2% | +146.2% | 289 |
| Psychology | $97 thousand | 0.3% | +361.9% | 389 |
| Other sciences | $15 thousand | 0.0% | — | 273 |
Neighbours
Ranked around California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 247 | University of Massachusetts Dartmouth | $42.4M |
| 248 | San Francisco State University | $42.0M |
| 249 | Marshall University | $39.2M |
| 250 | State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry | $38.7M |
| 251 | Oakland University | $38.5M |
| 252 | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo | $38.1M |
| 253 | Illinois Institute of Technology | $38.0M |
| 254 | State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences University | $37.3M |
| 255 | Tennessee Technological University | $36.4M |
| 256 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | $35.1M |
| 257 | Tennessee State University | $35.0M |
Keep looking
Where this institution sits
Related rankings
Benchmark California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo against its peers.
Request a demoData: NSF HERD FY2024, built from NSF's published tables on September 8, 2026. Page updated September 13, 2026.
Data: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, FY2024.
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