Indicator Highlights

2016 Indicator Highlights

• Industry Funding of Academic and Health R&D in Massachusetts set a 10-year record in 2014 ($237 million).
• Venture Capital invested in Massachusetts firms increased by nearly $3 billion from 2013-2015.  Early stage and Expansionary firms were the most popular destinations for funding;
• The Biotechnology (38.8%) and Software (28.6%) sectors accounted for the majority of total Venture Capital funding in 2015.

• Massachusetts’ Innovation economy jobs grew at 2.3%, the same rate as the rest of the economy over the previous year.
• Massachusetts households earn $10,000 more than their counterparts in the average Leading Technology States (LTS).
• Massachusetts exports as a share of GDP are down 7.6% since 2014.
• Output grew by 36% from 2009-2015 in two sectors:
  • Computer & Communications Hardware
  • Software & Communications Services

• Massachusetts leads the LTS in
  • Federal R&D Funding for Universities & Non-profits as share of GDP ($6.64 per $1,000 GDP);
  • R&D spending as a percent of GDP (5.86%); and
  • NIH R&D Funding per capita ($4,248 per $1 million GDP).

• Massachusetts’ continues to rely on an educated workforce as 67.5% have at least some college education.
• Employment rate of adults with a Bachelor’s degree has remained flat (75.70%) as compared to 2014.
• Massachusetts leads the LTS in degrees granted per million residents in STEM fields with 2,698 degrees.
• Massachusetts maintains an advantage over the LTS in life science graduates (774 per million residents) from 2014-2015.

• Massachusetts is 2nd in the LTS for Small Business Innovation and Research/Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) award dollars as a percentage of GDP ($583 million $1 million GDP).
• Massachusetts patents continued to increase to a new high of 6,777 in 2015, but at a slower rate than previous years.
• Massachusetts leads the LTS in the following Technology Patent Sectors:
  • Drugs & Medical Patents (227 per million residents); and
  • Analytical Instruments & Research Methods Patents (100 per million residents).