Industry · NAICS 5417

Scientific research and development

The United States has 22,403 employer establishments in scientific research and development (0.7 per 10,000 residents), employing 1,003,975 people at an average annual pay of $153,460, plus 59,283 nonemployer businesses.

In the United States

Establishments
22,403
59,283 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents
0.7
Paid employees
1,003,975
Average annual pay
$153,460

Places ranked by residents per establishment

Places ranked by residents per establishment: more residents for each business, fewer competitors per resident. A count, not a measure of demand: retirement areas, low incomes or tourism change what a business needs.

Places
State
Size
Scientific research and development by residents per establishment
#Placevs US
1Stockton-Lodi, CA806,0556134,3430.10.11×881$134,13236
2Springfield, MA462,133592,4270.10.16×133$81,18845
3Fresno, CA1,188,9361391,4570.10.16×175$98,35446
4McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX901,0961090,1100.10.17×56$64,39355
5Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA570,853781,5500.10.18×111$58,18024
6Visalia, CA480,816680,1360.10.19×33$40,72716
7Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC398,699579,7400.10.19×22$21,95524
8El Paso, TX876,6411179,6950.10.19×56$57,94698
9Montgomery, AL386,409577,2820.10.19×21$89,47625
10Jackson, MS609,365967,7070.10.22×30$96,23366
11Columbus, GA-AL323,962564,7920.20.23×98$58,52017
12Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV305,789561,1580.20.25×30$100,50021
13Toledo, OH599,7511059,9750.20.25×495$126,16449
14Chattanooga, TN-GA582,5361058,2540.20.26×125$89,60839
15Canton-Massillon, OH399,266757,0380.20.26×78$75,85925
16Duluth, MN-WI281,465556,2930.20.27×124$76,12126
17Modesto, CA554,4591055,4460.20.27×100$36,06015
18Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA275,871555,1740.20.27×346$64,90833
19Brownsville-Harlingen, TX428,906853,6130.20.28×57$76,26325
20York-Hanover, PA466,068951,7850.20.29×169$52,66329
21Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA4,707,4489151,7300.20.29×709$118,955375
22Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL824,7941651,5500.20.29×170$81,15939
23Waco, TX305,076650,8460.20.30×69$107,92845
24Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI1,165,6572350,6810.20.30×1,073$141,89996
25Killeen-Temple, TX502,4971050,2500.20.30×122$56,86120

1–25 of 246 places

Sources: County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024).

  • Residents per establishment is the place's population estimate for 2023 divided by its establishments; more residents per business means fewer competitors per resident. Places with fewer than the minimum establishments are left out because a handful of businesses makes the ratio jump around.
  • Metro areas are made of whole counties and their figures are the exact sums of those counties'. A metro area is listed under its principal state.
  • This compares counts of businesses with counts of residents. It does not measure demand, spending power, visitors, the size or quality of the businesses, or whether a market is open. Employment and payroll carry the Census Bureau's noise infusion.
  • County Business Patterns 2023 uses NAICS 2017 codes; the nonemployer figures use NAICS 2022. Industries are matched by name between editions.
  • Growth needs a second reference year of County Business Patterns in the same industry classification; only 2023 is loaded, so there is no growth column yet.

Federal contracts in this industry

Federal agencies obligated $57.5B on contracts under NAICS 5417 in fiscal year 2026, nationwide (20,289 awards, each counted once per county where it was performed).

Metro areas

  1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$8.2B14%
    3,301 awards
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$5.8B10%
    334 awards
  3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$5.6B9.7%
    1,207 awards
  4. Huntsville, AL$4.7B8.1%
    2,890 awards
  5. Pittsburgh, PA$4.4B7.6%
    148 awards
  6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$2.6B4.5%
    932 awards
  7. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$2.4B4.2%
    1,152 awards
  8. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$2B3.6%
    160 awards
  9. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$2B3.4%
    226 awards
  10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$1.8B3.0%
    499 awards

Counties

  1. Los Angeles County, CA$5.5B9.5%
    1,088 awards
  2. Alameda County, CA$5.1B8.9%
    111 awards
  3. Madison County, AL$4.7B8.1%
    2,884 awards
  4. Allegheny County, PA$4.4B7.6%
    136 awards
  5. Fairfax County, VA$3.1B5.4%
    1,001 awards
  6. Middlesex County, MA$2.4B4.1%
    681 awards
  7. Pima County, AZ$1.7B2.9%
    108 awards
  8. Howard County, MD$1.6B2.7%
    756 awards
  9. District of Columbia, DC$1.5B2.7%
    802 awards
  10. Santa Clara County, CA$1.5B2.5%
    218 awards

Cities and towns

  1. West Mifflin borough, PA$4.1B7.2%
    5 awards
  2. Huntsville city, AL$3B5.2%
    357 awards
  3. El Segundo city, CA$1.7B3.0%
    178 awards
  4. Washington city, DC$1.5B2.7%
    802 awards
  5. Berkeley city, CA$1.2B2.1%
    30 awards
  6. Lexington CDP, MA$1.2B2.1%
    73 awards
  7. Richland city, WA$1.1B1.8%
    3 awards
  8. Tucson city, AZ$995.1M1.7%
    103 awards
  9. Sunnyvale city, CA$954.3M1.7%
    39 awards
  10. McLean CDP, VA$919.3M1.6%
    272 awards

Where the work was performed, as agencies report it (often the contractor's office). Metro areas are the exact sums of their counties. Cities are estimated: each action's county money split by the share of its ZIP code's land inside the city, so a city's figure is part of its county's.

USAspending.gov, prime award contract transactions (FPDS)