Four States Accounted for More than Half of All State Government Intramural R&D Personnel in FY 2023

State government agencies’ intramural research and development (R&D) personnel totaled 9,924 employees across the 50 state governments and the District of Columbia in FY 2023. New York State agencies accounted for nearly one-third of all state government R&D personnel, and when combined with Florida, Washington, and California state government agencies, these four states accounted for 55% of all state intramural R&D personnel. The number of intramural R&D employees differs considerably across states for reasons including but not limited to differences in how state governments structure their R&D activities. Some states may have considerable intramural R&D programs, whereas others may direct most of their R&D expenditures to extramural (non-state) performers, such as universities or businesses. Intramural R&D personnel are a state department’s or agency’s own employees (excluding public university employees) who perform R&D. These R&D employees include researchers, technicians, and support staff. Researchers include R&D scientists, engineers, and their managers. Technicians include wildlife technicians, lab technicians, and field staff. Support staff include accountants, facilities management, grant specialists, and administrative staff.

These and additional details are included in the full set of data tables available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/state-government-research-development/2023.

NCSES has reviewed this product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved its release (NCSES-DRN24-081).

Suggested Citation: Pece CV, Muche M; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2025. Four States Accounted for More than Half of All State Government Intramural R&D Personnel in FY 2023. NSF 25-324. Alexandria, VA: U.S. National Science Foundation. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25324.