On May, 21, 2024, a study by the National Science Board (NSB) showed that the United States is the largest performer of research and development (R&D), with $806 billion in gross domestic expenditures on R&D in 2021, followed by China, with $668 billion.

While overall funding of R&D in the U.S. continued to rise rapidly, the share of basic research funded by the federal government continues to decline. Business funding of U.S. R&D surpassed federal funding in the 1980s and now dominates the U.S. S&E enterprise.

In 2022, the business sector funded $672.9 billion, or 76% of total U.S. R&D, up from 69% in 2000 and 61% in 2010. The study findings were published in Research and Development: U.S. Trends and International Comparisons.