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Only Five US States Account for Half of Business R&D Spending

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics published a report stating that half of all the money spent on research and development in the US is spent in only five states.
The report focuses on the R&D expenditures for 2013, the total of which was $255 billion. It showed that business R&D is more geographically concentrated than either population or gross national product.

California had by far the highest concentration of R&D, with a total of $77 billion, or 30% of the total. Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington State had totals of $14 billion, and Texas was the fifth state with total R&D expenditures of $13 billion.

During the five years between 2008 and 2013 California’s R&D grew from 25% to 30% of the US total, growing at a faster pace than its total economy. The intensity of this growth, the ratio of business R&D to GDP, increased from 2.8% to 3.5%.

In four of the top ten states just one industry dominated the business R&D. In Washington it was the software industry that accounted for 62% of its total, while in Michigan automobile manufacturing was 74% of its total. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the pharmaceutical industry accounted for 53% and 48%, respectively.

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