NIH funding in North Carolina
Updated October 13, 2026 · Refreshed when USAspending posts new fiscal-year data · Published by Grantsights
NIH obligated $1.47 billion in grants to organizations in North Carolina in fiscal year 2026, 6th among the 50 states and DC. That's $141 per resident, the 9th-highest per person.
- FY2026: $1.47 billion, up 2% from $1.45 billion in FY2025.
- Since FY2020: down 9% ($1.63 billion then).
- Largest recipient: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $528.4 million (36% of the state total).
North Carolina NIH grant obligations by fiscal year: $1.47 billion in FY2026
| Fiscal year | NIH grant obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1,473,935,501 |
| FY2025 | $1,450,718,443 |
| FY2024 | $1,467,370,347 |
| FY2023 | $1,553,483,937 |
| FY2022 | $1,600,704,521 |
| FY2021 | $1,568,939,521 |
| FY2020 | $1,627,948,001 |
Source: USAspending.gov, NIH grant obligations by recipient location, pulled October 13, 2026.
Who received the most NIH grant money in North Carolina in FY2026: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| Recipient | FY2026 obligations |
|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $528.4 million |
| Duke University | $493.5 million |
| Wake Forest University Health Sciences | $142.1 million |
| Research Triangle Institute | $74.5 million |
| North Carolina State University | $45.8 million |
| Family Health International | $40.0 million |
| Rho Federal Systems Division Inc | $18.7 million |
| North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | $9.8 million |
| Wake Forest University | $9.3 million |
| Mucommune Llc | $9.2 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 North Carolina," updated October 13, 2026, https://grantsights.com/research/nih-funding-by-state/north-carolina. Data: USAspending.gov.
Who won specific NIH awards: R01, K99/R00, R15 and F31 award histories.