Economic Impact of Health Research

Investment: Funding sources for overall research and development (2004)

Source of R&D Funding Investment State Rank
Federal Government $1,987,400,000 14
Industry $8,744,000,000 6
Universities $71,300,000 30
Non-profit $28,600,000 25
Other * $104,700,000 9
Total $10,936,000,000 9

* Other represents funding from state and local governments and funding for Federally Funded Research and Development Centers from non-federal sources.

Source: National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources , 2006


Economic Impact: Statistics for research-driven health industries (2004)

Industry Employment Annual Salary
Pharmaceutical 1,795 $66,115
Medical Device 7,593 $57,466
Research, Testing, and Laboratories 11,461 $63,735
Overall Private Sector  $38,833

Source: Battelle Memorial Institute and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growing the Nation's Biotech Sector: State Bioscience Initiatives 2006


Highlights from local economic impact studies

The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that the member medical schools and teaching hospitals in the state had a combined economic impact of $3.8 billion and a total employment impact of 23,000 in 2005.

According to the University of Washington, the development of a biotechnology research center in the South Lake Union region of Seattle is projected to directly add 23,000 jobs by 2020.

According to the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association, research institutions in the state attracted $2.2 billion to the state in 2005. The state's biotechnology and medical device industry directly employ nearly 20,000 people and indirectly support another 55,000 jobs.

The University of Washington received more than $1 billion in research funding during FY 2006. In addition, UW generated more than $2 billion in economic activity and supported 42,000 jobs in the state.

Research funding at UW supported an estimated 34,000 jobs in the state in FY 2006. In the same year, UW technology licenses brought in $23.5 million.

According to UW, global health activities in the state resulted in $4.1 billion of economic activity and supported 43,800 total jobs in the state. Of this, $130 million of economic activity was attributed to research and teaching activities at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

According to the Washington State Hospital Association, the hospital industry in Washington had a total impact of $17.5 billion on the state economy and supported 204,000 jobs in 2001.

According to a report from BIO and Battelle, the $350 million Life Sciences Discovery Fund is expected to leverage $1 billion in external research funding in 10 years and create 20,000 jobs in 15 years.