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Impact

Our Economy

NIH research is a powerful economic engine, investing more than $31 billion annually in medical research for the American people. In fiscal year 2011, NIH-funded research supported an estimated 432,000 jobs all across the United States.

Photo of 4 people in the uniforms of different career paths.

The economic impact of NIH does not end there. It has been estimated that every $1 of NIH funding generates about $2.21 in local economic growth. Also, discoveries arising from NIH-funded research serve as a foundation for the entire U.S. biomedical industry. Long considered the world’s leader in innovation, that vital sector exports an estimated $90 billion in goods and services annually and employs 1 million U.S. citizens with wages totaling an estimated $84 billion. 

Consider the economic payoff of just one NIH-supported research initiative: the successful effort to read all the letters in the human DNA instruction book. The U.S. government’s $4 billion investment in the Human Genome Project spurred an estimated $796 billion in economic growth from 2000-2010—a 141-fold return on investment, after adjusting for inflation.

Learn More

NIH Research’s Impact on the Economy (PDF - 76KB)

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®(PDF - 4.4MB)

The National Institutes of Health—A Review of Its Reforms, Priorities, and Progress (PDF - 160 KB), June 21, 2012

The National Institutes of Health—A Review of Its Reforms, Priorities, and Progress: Watch the video External Web Site Policy

NIH FY2013 Budget Request (PDF - 107KB)

Video of NIH Director Francis Collins and others testifying on NIH FY2013 Budget Request. March 28, 2012

Leadership in Decline External Web Site Policy, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and United for Medical Research, 2012

Not Coming to America
(PDF - 1.6MB)
, The Partnership for a New American Economy, 2012

NIH’s Role in Sustaining the US Economy External Web Site Policy , United for Medical Research, 2012

An Economic Engine External Web Site Policy , United for Medical Research, 2011

Economic Impact of the Human Genome Project External Web Site Policy, Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, 2011

In Your Own Backyard External Web Site Policy, Families USA, 2008

This page last reviewed on October 1, 2012

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