NIH funding in California
Updated October 13, 2026 · Refreshed when USAspending posts new fiscal-year data · Published by Grantsights
NIH obligated $4.79 billion in grants to organizations in California in fiscal year 2026, 1st among the 50 states and DC. That's $121 per resident, the 12th-highest per person.
- FY2026: $4.79 billion, down 5% from $5.03 billion in FY2025.
- Since FY2020: about the same ($4.81 billion then).
- Largest recipient: Regents of the University of California, San Francisco, the, $815.1 million (17% of the state total).
California NIH grant obligations by fiscal year: $4.79 billion in FY2026
| Fiscal year | NIH grant obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $4,790,370,792 |
| FY2025 | $5,031,305,996 |
| FY2024 | $4,928,529,790 |
| FY2023 | $5,015,938,580 |
| FY2022 | $5,232,113,504 |
| FY2021 | $4,839,656,507 |
| FY2020 | $4,805,807,073 |
Source: USAspending.gov, NIH grant obligations by recipient location, pulled October 13, 2026.
Who received the most NIH grant money in California in FY2026: Regents of the University of California, San Francisco, the
| Recipient | FY2026 obligations |
|---|---|
| Regents of the University of California, San Francisco, the | $815.1 million |
| The Leland Stanford Junior University | $643.3 million |
| University of California, San Diego | $496.9 million |
| University of California, Los Angeles | $359.8 million |
| University of Southern California | $349.5 million |
| University of California, Davis | $308.4 million |
| University of California Irvine | $217.6 million |
| Scripps Research Institute | $150.0 million |
| Regents of the University of California, the | $137.3 million |
| Cedars-sinai Medical Center | $118.0 million |
Recipient names as USAspending lists them. Hospitals and universities often receive grants under a legal name that differs from the name people use.
How it's counted
- NIH grant obligations (project grants, cooperative agreements and other assistance awards) in USAspending, by the state of the recipient's address.
- Obligations are net: money taken back from ended or cut grants is subtracted in the year it happens.
- Per-resident figures use the Census 2020 population USAspending reports.
- Computed by a Grantsights script from the public USAspending API. See data sources.
What this doesn't show
- Money spent. Obligations are commitments; spending can lag by years.
- Where the work happens. Subawards to other states count where the prime recipient is.
- NIH's own totals, which count awards differently, or NIH contracts and intramural research.
- Success rates. For those, see NIH R01 success rates.
Compare every state on NIH funding by state, or download the CSV. Cite as: Grantsights, "NIH funding in California," updated October 13, 2026, https://grantsights.com/research/nih-funding-by-state/california. Data: USAspending.gov.
Who won specific NIH awards: R01, K99/R00, R15 and F31 award histories.