Section 08: Tech Infrastructure Metrics
Research & Development Funding
Research and development (R&D) funding is a major component of a technology sector’s infrastructure
R&D funding helps companies and universities develop new technologies that can be commercialized and spur tech growth. When total obligations (including federal, state, and private funding sources) are evaluated across all states, North Carolina invested about $22 billion in R&D during 2022. When this level of funding is standardized by the size of each state’s economy, North Carolina ranks #13. This is an improvement from a ranking of #14 in last year’s report.
However, the level of R&D as a percentage of GDP fell from 3.1% to 3.0%
Total R&D as a Percentage of GDP (2022)
Business Performed R&D as a % of PIO, 2022
Business-performed R&D made up 1.8% of North Carolina’s private GDP in 2022, a decline from 2.8% in 2021
Another indicator of a strong technology development environment is the amount of private R&D spending as a percentage of the state’s private output. This demonstrates R&D driven by companies themselves for profit-oriented innovation. As a result, the state’s ranking fell from #10 last year to #15 this year. Despite this, remaining in the top 15 states is a positive story, considering that in the first State of the Technology Sector report, North Carolina ranked #37.
North Carolina’s highest research and development ranking comes from the academic sector
Academic R&D can be further broken down into science and engineering funding within higher education. The technologies emerging from this research can lead to new companies in fields relevant to the tech sector. North Carolina ranked #5 among all states in 2023, retaining its spot in the top five for the last several years.
Source: National Science Foundation (2025)
Higher Education R&D in S&E Fields as a % of GDP, 2023