The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMap) estimates the impact of proposed funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) across the United States:
We source our data from a public database of NIH grants that were active in 2024. We estimate the economic impact of NIH grants (or reductions in NIH funding) based on a recent report, which found that every dollar invested in NIH generated $2.56 in new economic activity in 2024. To estimate the number of jobs that would be lost if NIH funding is cut, we used the ratio of the number of jobs supported / research funds awarded in the 2024 fiscal year. We also use Census data on where U.S. commuters live and work to estimate how economic activity generated in each county can spread to adjacent counties.
Nationally, the estimates sum to $16 billion and 68,000 jobs lost. This is in addition to lost research and advances in science, of course.
