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Research in Washington D.C.

Science Explorer records 1,142 research institutions in Washington D.C., United States. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are George Washington University, Georgetown University and Agricultural Research Service.

Research institutions
1,142
15 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
784k
▼ 3% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
17.1%
record average 16.5%

A city carries no overall standing here. The composite score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Washington D.C.?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1Georgetown UniversityUniversity 50,785 #697
2George Washington UniversityUniversity 50,708 #626
3United States Naval Research LaboratoryResearch facility 38,603 #2,850
4Agricultural Research ServiceGovernment institution 38,004 #1,795
5United States Department of Veterans AffairsGovernment institution 27,088 #5,134
6United States Department of AgricultureGovernment institution 20,807 #2,262
7American UniversityUniversity 17,523 #2,589
8Environmental Protection AgencyGovernment institution 16,986 #2,087
9International Monetary FundInstitution 15,450 #3,704
10Howard UniversityUniversity 14,975 #2,336
11Catholic University of AmericaUniversity 13,629 #4,358
12Walter Reed Army Institute of ResearchGovernment institution 12,941 #5,201
13Veterans Health AdministrationGovernment institution 11,269 #3,607
14National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationGovernment institution 10,244 #2,018
15Graduate School USAUniversity 10,091 #5,723
16US Forest ServiceGovernment institution 9,946 #5,420
17Smithsonian InstitutionGovernment institution 9,452 #3,871
18Children's NationalHospital / health system 8,944 #4,012
19World BankInstitution 8,019 #4,640
20Carnegie Institution for ScienceNonprofit 7,841 #2,064
21National Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthResearch facility 7,370 #8,019
22United States Public Health ServiceGovernment institution 7,059 #16,881
23National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and MedicineGovernment institution 6,998 #7,523
24Georgetown University Medical CenterHospital / health system 6,961 #3,950
25Zero to ThreeNonprofit 6,678 #1,841
26United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceGovernment institution 6,260 #9,087
27Naval Surface Warfare CenterResearch facility 5,584 #11,586
28United States Government Accountability OfficeGovernment institution 5,362 #19,980
29Center for Applied LinguisticsNonprofit 5,287 #11,343
30Federal ReserveInstitution 5,275 #7,780
31MedStar Washington Hospital CenterHospital / health system 5,261 #9,364
32Washington CenterInstitution 5,239 #11,616
33Federal Reserve Board of GovernorsGovernment institution 4,761 #5,310
34National Museum of Natural HistoryArchive 4,745 #4,388
35National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationGovernment institution 4,502 #8,771
36United States Department of EnergyGovernment institution 4,318 #7,230
37United States Department of the InteriorGovernment institution 4,254 #21,355
38American Geophysical UnionNonprofit 3,592 #15,527 all time
39OpticaNonprofit 3,572 #7,629
40Center for Global DevelopmentNonprofit 3,418 #5,884
41United States Army Corps of EngineersGovernment institution 3,389 #8,641
42United States Department of StateGovernment institution 3,388 #19,694
43United States Department of CommerceGovernment institution 3,283 #21,238
44United States Department of Health and Human ServicesGovernment institution 3,271 #15,200
45International Food Policy Research InstituteNonprofit 3,191 #5,361
46American Petroleum InstituteInstitution 3,189 #14,651
47Biotechnology InstituteNonprofit 3,020 #6,206
48American Red CrossNonprofit 3,003 #22,637
49National Park ServiceGovernment institution 2,963 #8,258
50Brookings InstitutionNonprofit 2,916 #11,154
51American Pharmacists AssociationInstitution 2,809 #10,474
52Urban InstituteNonprofit 2,765 #14,411
53Library of CongressArchive 2,764 #20,553
54United States NavyGovernment institution 2,673 #22,670
55Association of Research LibrariesNonprofit 2,611 #7,033
56MedStar Georgetown University HospitalHospital / health system 2,583 #6,414
57Center for InnovationResearch facility 2,540 #3,115
58Economic Research ServiceGovernment institution 2,467 #12,088
59Geophysical LaboratoryResearch facility 2,431 #20,368
60Government of the United States of AmericaGovernment institution 2,397 #12,739

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022–2025. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

Georgetown University: 9.1%George Washington University: 9.1%United States Naval Research Laboratory: 6.9%Agricultural Research Service: 6.8%56 others listed: 68.1%9%largest
Georgetown University51k · 9.1%George Washington University51k · 9.1%United States Naval Research Laboratory39k · 6.9%Agricultural Research Service38k · 6.8%56 others listed379k · 68.1%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

What is Washington D.C. strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Washington D.C. is most concentrated in General Psychology, Finance and Environmental Chemistry (4.0× the world share in General Psychology).

  1. General PsychologySubfield · 32.6 works4.0×
  2. FinanceSubfield · 902.0 works3.9×
  3. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 631.7 works3.7×
  4. General Economics, Econometrics and FinanceSubfield · 724.6 works3.7×
  5. Issues, ethics and legal aspectsSubfield · 54.0 works3.4×
  6. Library and Information SciencesSubfield · 43.4 works2.9×
  7. HorticultureSubfield · 29.3 works2.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

Which keywords describe research in Washington D.C.?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Epidemiology, Globalization, Public Health, Economic Growth, Mental Health, Monetary Policy and Human Rights.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change4,039▲ 1.94×130 topics
  2. Epidemiology3,775▲ 1.23×140 topics
  3. Globalization2,449▲ 1.61×182 topics
  4. Public Health1,958▲ 1.74×77 topics
  5. Machine Learning1,924▼ 0.76×97 topics
  6. Sustainability1,892◆ 1.00×139 topics
  7. Mental Health1,808▲ 1.59×48 topics
  8. Economic Growth1,590▲ 2.4×37 topics
  9. Human Rights1,354▲ 1.70×91 topics
  10. Quality of Life1,289◆ 1.15×60 topics
  11. Inflammation1,272▼ 0.79×83 topics
  12. Education1,192◆ 0.90×159 topics
  13. Environmental Impact1,143◆ 0.87×73 topics
  14. COVID-191,062◆ 1.00×34 topics
  15. Biodiversity1,060▲ 1.83×37 topics
  16. Innovation1,032▲ 1.27×89 topics
  17. Risk Factors1,012▲ 1.19×37 topics
  18. Economic Development976▲ 1.54×55 topics
  19. Healthcare955◆ 1.09×43 topics
  20. Invasive Species927▲ 2.8×21 topics
  21. Monetary Policy887▲ 4.7×13 topics
  22. Regulation796▲ 1.91×27 topics
  23. Health Effects754▲ 1.62×24 topics
  24. Conservation734▲ 2.2×24 topics
  25. Ethics689▲ 1.84×62 topics
  26. Resilience686▲ 1.84×19 topics
  27. Primary Care681▲ 2.3×15 topics
  28. Global Warming661▲ 2.1×16 topics
  29. Microbial Communities656▲ 1.98×10 topics
  30. Fiscal Policy650▲ 3.9×10 topics
  31. Democracy632▲ 2.3×30 topics
  32. Global Governance616▲ 3.5×26 topics
  33. International Law604▲ 2.5×32 topics
  34. Health Outcomes556▲ 2.6×8 topics
  35. Political Economy555▲ 2.8×17 topics
  36. Methane Oxidation411▲ 6.5×2 topics
  37. Anaerobic404▲ 7.5×1 topic
  38. Gas Hydrates404▲ 7.5×1 topic
  39. Structural Change372▲ 7.0×2 topics
  40. Liquidity369▲ 6.2×3 topics

What research is done in Washington D.C.?

Methane Hydrates and Rel…404Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 404 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…284Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 284 fractional worksSeismic Waves and Analysis: 280 fractional worksBanking stability, regulation, efficiency: 238 fractional worksGlobal Financial Crisis and Policies: 235 fractional worksMonetary Policy and Economic Impact: 223 fractional worksFood Security and Health in Diverse Populations: 204 fractional worksHealthcare Policy and Ma…186Healthcare Policy and Management: 186 fractional worksGlobal trade and economics: 184 fractional worksHousing Market and Economics: 181 fractional works
Environmental ChemistryAstronomy and AstrophysicsGeophysicsFinance3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 404 works
  2. 2 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 284 works
  3. 3 Seismic Waves and Analysis Geophysics 280 works
  4. 4 Banking stability, regulation, efficiency Finance 238 works
  5. 5 Global Financial Crisis and Policies Finance 235 works
  6. 6 Monetary Policy and Economic Impact General Economics, Econometrics and Finance 223 works
  7. 7 Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations General Health Professions 204 works
  8. 8 Healthcare Policy and Management Economics and Econometrics 186 works
  9. 9 Global trade and economics General Economics, Econometrics and Finance 184 works
  10. 10 Housing Market and Economics Economics and Econometrics 181 works

Research output over time

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.