NASA's budget makes up less than 0.4% of total US spending

NASA's annual budget consists mainly of human spaceflight activities (50%) and robotics and scientific research programs (30%). It peaked at almost $70B in 1964 but has been below $30B since 1995, coming from discretionary nondefense funds.

An overview of the National Science Foundation and the technologies it has helped fund

Established in 1950, the federal agency has provided billions of dollars to over 300,000 researchers, entrepreneurs, and students to conduct research across all seven continents. These funds have contributed to major technological achievements, from the invention of the internet to the first image of a black hole.

As of 2022, about 40% of scientific research aimed at generating new knowledge has been funded by the federal government—a percentage that has decreased from a high of 72% in 1967.

Understanding why Republicans have challenged funding for the NSF

Lack of Congressional support in funding the National Science Foundation has often been justified by the party's interest in cutting federal deficits and reducing waste for seemingly frivolous research projects. However, an analysis of NSF grant data from 1992 to 2018 shows that awards were given to Democratic constituencies at disproportionately higher rates than to Republican ones, despite a lack of evidence of partisanship in proposal reviews. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The origin of the National Science Foundation and why World War II led to its founding

Before World War II, research institutions were funded by endowments or private companies whose priorities stifled the curiosity-driven science that fueled significant breakthroughs and innovation. The NSF was established in 1950 to promote independent scientific progress through basic research, which is focused on knowledge acquisition rather than commercial applications, conducted at national colleges and universities.

Use this calculator to find out the programs and services your federal income taxes fund.

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Nearly half of the discretionary funding in the US is allocated to national defense.

The EPA budget was 0.2% of total federal spending in 2024

The EPA spent $13.7B in 2024, making it 23rd among federal agencies in total expenditures. Of that money, more than half was distributed to state environmental agencies for sustainability and environmental protection programs.

How the National Science Foundation supports the US economy

The NSF has filled funding gaps in the research and development of products developed in the private sector, particularly when the research requires more than three years to complete. These investments, including in startups such as Qualcomm and Symantec, have supported job creation, generated economic returns, and helped build the technologies many industries rely upon, such as the internet.

View an historical mural depicting the NSF's impact across seven decades

From 1950 to 2020, the National Science Foundation supported discovery-based, exploratory research that led to numerous breakthroughs, including the development of supercomputing centers, 3D printing technologies, biometric identification systems, an understanding of vector-borne illnesses, a DNA amplification technique, mobile meteorology units, and scientific education and literacy programming.

An organizational breakdown of the National Science Foundation's directorates

Each is responsible for supporting a different discipline within science, engineering, and education, such as the Directorate for Biological Sciences, the Directorate for Engineering, and the Directorate for STEM Education. Formed in 2022, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships is the NSF's first new directorate in 30 years and is focused on growing industry and an equitable STEM workforce.

Explore a list of Nobel Prize winners supported by National Science Foundation grants

As of 2025, 274 Nobel laureates have received funding from the NSF at some point during their careers, including 49 in physiology or medicine, 82 in physics, and 70 in chemistry. The 73 NSF-funded laureates in economics include every prize winner since 1997.

Explore the distribution of NSF Engines—regions that receive up to $160M in funding from the National Science Foundation to build and scale geographic clusters of scientific research, technological innovation, and economic growth.

The federal agency dedicated to supporting museums and libraries spent $280M in 2024

The Institute of Museum and Library Services—a division of the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities—administered $294M in FY 2024, accounting for nearly 40% of the National Endowment's total spending.

The federal government sent roughly $1.1T to state and local governments in 2024

Federal grants support a large portion of state and local budgets, funding Medicaid, infrastructure, education, and housing. In FY 2024, these transfers made up about 16% of total federal spending.

NASA economic impact (and budget history)

It's estimated that for every dollar NASA spends on its programs, $8 is produced in US economic growth. With a 2023 budget of roughly $25 billion, that means NASA helped create $200 billion in economic value. The administration's investments pay off so massively due to the technologies it develops, many of which become commercially appealing. Dive into the economic impact of NASA's development here.

Learn about the National Science Board, the advisory body of the National Science Foundation

The apolitical Board's 24 presidentially appointed members, along with the NSF director, establish the agency's operational policies, programs, and awards, and approve its budget. They also advise the President and Congress on matters of science and engineering research and education to fulfill the NSF's goals of promoting scientific progress, advancing national health, prosperity, and welfare, and securing national defense.

How the Trump administration explained the firing of the NSF's National Science Board

The White House argued that the April 24, 2026, decision resulted from the 2021 US v. Arthrex Supreme Court ruling, which "set limits on the powers of executive branch officials who are not Senate-confirmed" and therefore conflicts with the law that created the NSB. As of May 2026, the administration has yet to explain its next steps for the advisory arm of the National Science Foundation, which has lost about a third of its staff since the start of 2025.

Understanding why graduate fellowships from the NSF have exacerbated funding inequities

In 2017, 86% of Graduate Research Fellowship Program awardees came from institutions with high research activity, while just 0.3% were from HBCUs. Although the National Science Foundation mandates that all grant proposal reviewers undergo bias training, anecdotal data suggests that well-resourced schools take significant steps to prepare applicants, and they submit proposals at a higher-than-average rate. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

View the evolution of the National Science Foundation logo

When the agency was established in 1950, the logo featured an eagle holding a shield with symbols of a pyramid, a test tube, a microscope, and a lamp from which light radiated. Subsequent logos featured variations of a ring composed of people holding hands, which would eventually be redesigned to enclose a globe bearing the "NSF" abbreviation.

A former grant recipient and reviewer explains how the NSF decides what research to fund

Every year, approximately 50,000 research proposals are evaluated against two merit review criteria approved by the National Science Board: the quality of the project and its potential societal impact. These evaluations are conducted by experts in the fields related to each proposal, identified by NSF program officers from a list of about 50,000 volunteers.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) accounted for 22.4% of all federal spending in 2024

The SSA is an independent executive branch agency that is primarily responsible for administering Social Security benefits. In fiscal year 2024, The SSA, ranking second among federal agencies in terms of total spending, behind only the Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal government has spent more money annually than it has collected every year since 2022.

How Congressional oversight can override confidentiality in the NSF's proposal review process

In 2014, to investigate claims that the NSF was funding wasteful research rather than proposals that served national interests, confidential grant files were provided and reviewed by members of the House Science Committee. The actions, led by Lamar Smith (R-TX), were denounced by the scientific research community. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Visualize government spending with USAFacts to see complex federal budget data as clear charts and summaries, and explore where the money goes as well as how revenue, deficits, and debt change over time.

The history of the commercialization of the internet, from ARPANET to NSFNET and beyond

NSFNET was launched in 1986 by the National Science Foundation as the first network available to all researchers, connecting them to a system of supercomputer facilities. Despite growing from 2,000 computers in 1985 to 2 million by 1993, the rapid expansion of commercial internet services led to NSFNET's decommissioning by 1995.

US public K-12 spending topped $857B in 2024

Public K-12 schools spent around $857B in 2024, averaging $17,277 per student. State and local sources shouldered nearly 90% of costs, and federal funds provided about $2,400 per pupil.

How the NSF Public Understanding of Science program fueled science interest and literacy

To support STEM education at all levels and in all settings, the NSF has invested in public-facing science projects since 1957. These investments produced science education storytelling and entertainment programming, including "Bill Nye the Science Guy," "The Magic School Bus," and the "Flight of the Butterflies" and "Blue Whales" IMAX films.

The Department of Justice spent $44B in 2024.

See which states contribute the most and least to the federal government.

Federal spending falls into 2 categories: mandatory and discretionary

Federal spending is split between mandatory programs, funded automatically by law, and discretionary programs, funded through annual appropriations. This video breaks down which major programs fall into each category and why the distinction matters.

Learn about the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the NSF's longest-running program

Since 1952, the program has supported over 70,000 full-time graduate students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in STEM fields and education, helping nurture a pipeline of professionals to advance scientific progress in the US. More than 40 former fellows have received Nobel Prizes. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

State and local governments fund very different services

Local governments allocate 39% of their spending to K-12 education, while states allocate less than 1% directly—although much of local education funding actually comes from state and federal grants to local communities. States instead allocate their budgets to public welfare and health programs (45%) and higher education (15%).

The history of the National Science Foundation Network, a precursor of the internet

Although ARPANET connected various national laboratories and supercomputing facilities by the 1970s to facilitate scientific collaboration, the system was slow and required highly trained operators. The launch of NSFNET in 1986 provided a more flexible and powerful network that went on to connect over 170 academic and research communities and link to its European counterpart, EASInet.

Why the structure of the National Science Board contributes to the NSF's nonpartisan design

After Congressional debates over the merits of having an independent agency versus one accountable to the president and the public, it was decided that the director and Board members would be presidentially appointed but serve staggered six-year terms. By replacing one-third of the Board's members every two years, each could outlast any single administration.

Roughly 22% of US tax dollars go to Social Security

Social security is the US government’s largest expense. You can see other government expenses in a visual breakdown of what one US tax dollar actually pays for. Total spending amounts were converted to cents on the dollar and percentages.

In 2020, government entities spent $316.5B on infrastructure, with state and local governments accounting for 34.8% of that amount.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.