University of Colorado Boulder research and development spending, FY2024
- Boulder, CO
- R1
- Public
- Standard form filer
University of Colorado Boulder in FY2024
$717.9 million
spent on research and development in FY2024, as reported to the NSF HERD Survey
- National rank
- #51 of 925
- Change on FY2023
- up 10.1%
- Rank change
- up 1
University of Colorado Boulder reported $717.9 million of research and development spending in FY2024, ranking #51 of the 925 institutions in the survey. That is up 10.1% on FY2023's $651.9 million; its national rank was up 1 place. Federal government is its largest funding source at 79.1% ($567.7 million), followed by all other sources at 8.5%. Its largest field of research is physical sciences, $216.8 million or 30.2% 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 | $349.4 million | 59 |
| FY2011 | $390.7 million | 53 |
| FY2012 | $392.0 million | 52 |
| FY2013 | $385.8 million | 55 |
| FY2014 | $379.5 million | 55 |
| FY2015 | $420.8 million | 51 |
| FY2016 | $453.1 million | 48 |
| FY2017 | $499.4 million | 47 |
| FY2018 | $514.6 million | 47 |
| FY2019 | $513.8 million | 51 |
| FY2020 | $525.7 million | 53 |
| FY2021 | $547.7 million | 52 |
| FY2022 | $611.4 million | 50 |
| FY2023 | $651.9 million | 52 |
| FY2024 | $717.9 million | 51 |
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 University of Colorado Boulder 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal government | $567.7 million | 79.1% | +5.4% | 33 |
| All other sources | $61.0 million | 8.5% | +89.7% | 14 |
| Institution funds | $47.2 million | 6.6% | +11.1% | 155 |
| Nonprofit organizations | $19.4 million | 2.7% | +6.0% | 90 |
| Business | $15.7 million | 2.2% | +4.3% | 86 |
| State and local government | $7.0 million | 1.0% | +32.4% | 143 |
| All sources | $717.9 million | 100.0% | +10.1% | 51 |
Fields of research
The 10 NSF research fields University of Colorado Boulder reported in FY2024, largest first.
| Field | FY2024 | Share | Change on FY2023 | US rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical sciences | $216.8 million | 30.2% | +21.1% | 5 |
| Engineering | $177.8 million | 24.8% | +1.5% | 23 |
| Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences | $144.7 million | 20.2% | +3.3% | 4 |
| Life sciences | $67.5 million | 9.4% | +9.1% | 135 |
| Non-S&E | $44.0 million | 6.1% | +24.1% | 60 |
| Computer and information sciences | $23.6 million | 3.3% | +11.3% | 45 |
| Psychology | $18.0 million | 2.5% | +8.0% | 24 |
| Social sciences | $17.7 million | 2.5% | +5.4% | 59 |
| Mathematics and statistics | $5.5 million | 0.8% | +33.1% | 46 |
| Other sciences | $2.4 million | 0.3% | +49.9% | 88 |
Neighbours
Ranked around University of Colorado Boulder
Institutions ranked immediately above and below
The five institutions ranked above University of Colorado Boulder and the five below it in the FY2024 national ranking.
| Rank | Institution | FY2024 R&D |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | University of Virginia, Charlottesville | $813.8M |
| 47 | University of Utah, The | $789.3M |
| 48 | Boston University | $784.4M |
| 49 | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus | $741.6M |
| 50 | University of Cincinnati | $739.9M |
| 51 | University of Colorado Boulder | $717.9M |
| 52 | North Carolina State University | $717.0M |
| 53 | University of Iowa | $703.3M |
| 54 | University of Chicago, The | $680.8M |
| 55 | University of Nebraska, Lincoln and Medical Center | $657.5M |
| 56 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | $656.9M |
Keep looking
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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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