Science funding / Explore

Explore federal science funding

Seven decades of US research money in two lenses: how budgets moved over time, and how the dollars flow from funders to federal agencies. Every view has its own link — scrub, reframe, and share.

Focus agency

From FY 1976 to FY 2026, the US economy grew 3.8× in real terms while total federal R&D grew 1.5×.

Total federal R&D versus real US GDP, each line shown as a multiple of its FY 1976 level.

Growth multiples in 2017 dollars — every line rebased to 1× in FY 1976FY 2026: budget-request estimateTotal federal R&DReal US GDP

Source: AAAS Historical R&D Data · as of 2025-10-23

1987 — Reagan buildup crests. Defense R&D nearly doubles in real terms between 1980 and 1987.
2010 — Post-9/11 peak. The wartime buildup carries defense R&D to its real-terms high.
2013 — Sequestration. The Budget Control Act's across-the-board caps cut R&D government-wide.
2017 — R&D definition narrows. A bookkeeping change moves late-stage weapons work out of the defense R&D tally — not a budget cut.
2020 — COVID-19 emergency funding. Pandemic spending pushes health research to its real-terms record.

Federal budget totals begin in FY 1976. Years back to 1953 are covered by the money-flow lens, which tracks who funds US R&D from 1953.

1953FY 1953 – FY 20262026

About this view

This view shows the funding-history lens from fiscal year 1953 to 2026, framed in growth multiples — federal R&D and real US GDP each rebased to 1× at the start of the window.

From FY 1976 to FY 2026, the US economy grew 3.8× in real terms while total federal R&D grew 1.5×. Figures for fiscal year 2026 and later are estimates carried from the White House budget request; the enacted FY 2026 cycle is tracked on the appropriations page.

All figures come from the AAAS Historical R&D Data as of 2025-10-23.