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Nonprofit · Washington D.C. · United States

Urban Institute

In research, Urban Institute stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,804 of 9,585 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#3,185 of 5,988 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Economics and Econometrics, General Health Professions and Economics, Econometrics and Finance (Economics and Econometrics is 7.3× its share of world research).

urban.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#6,918
of 22,385 · #2,244 all time
Rank in United States
#930
of 3,332
Research works
2.8k
▼ 34% vs 2018-21
Citations
83k
29.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.06×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
31%
world 40%
International
9%
world 18%
Urban Institute

What is Urban Institute known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #3,804 of 9,585 11.5%146 #1049
Social SciencesField #3,185 of 5,988 12.2%81 #961

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Urban Institute sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Urban Institute work in?

In 2022-now, 60% of research at Urban Institute is in Social Sciences, 22% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (34%), Economics, Econometrics and Finance (14%), Health Professions (12%). It does 2.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 159 fractional works · 59.9% of its workSocial Sciences: 90 fractional works · 33.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 33 fractional works · 12.5% of its workUrban Studies: 11 fractional works · 4.0% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 9 fractional works · 3.3% of its workEducation: 8 fractional works · 2.9% of its workDemography: 6 fractional works · 2.3% of its workGender Studies: 6 fractional works · 2.2% of its workHealth: 5 fractional works · 1.9% of its workTransportation: 4 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSafety Research: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPublic Administration: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 38 fractional works · 14.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 31 fractional works · 11.6% of its workFinance: 6 fractional works · 2.3% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 12 fractional works · 4.4% of its workClinical Psychology: 7 fractional works · 2.7% of its workSocial Psychology: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 10 fractional works · 3.6% of its workAccounting: 4 fractional works · 1.7% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workStrategy and Management: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArts and Humanities: 7 fractional works · 2.8% of its workHistory: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhilosophy: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workConservation: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArcheology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 59 fractional works · 22.2% of its workHealth Professions: 33 fractional works · 12.2% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 27 fractional works · 10.0% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth Information Management: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMedicine: 25 fractional works · 9.2% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 7 fractional works · 2.7% of its workEpidemiology: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnesthesiology and Pain Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 1.6% of its workNursing: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 41 fractional works · 15.4% of its workEnvironmental Science: 15 fractional works · 5.7% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 4 fractional works · 1.7% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEngineering: 10 fractional works · 3.6% of its workArchitecture: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMedia Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Science: 7 fractional works · 2.7% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInformation Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 5 fractional works · 2.0% of its workStatistics and Probability: 5 fractional works · 1.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 7 fractional works · 2.5% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 5 fractional works · 2.0% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPlant Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workForestry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKUrban Institute266fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences3%Physical Sciences15%Health Sciences22%Social Sciences60%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 22 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences9033.8%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance3814.3%
    3. Psychology124.4%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting103.6%
    5. Arts and Humanities72.8%
    6. Decision Sciences20.9%
    1. Health Professions3312.2%
    2. Medicine259.2%
    3. Nursing20.7%
    1. Environmental Science155.7%
    2. Engineering103.6%
    3. Computer Science72.7%
    4. Mathematics52.0%
    5. Chemistry20.6%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences10.4%
    7. Energy10.3%
    8. Physics and Astronomy00.1%
    9. Materials Science00.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences52.0%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.3%
    3. Neuroscience00.1%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Urban Institute specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Economics and Econometrics takes 7.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Economics and EconometricsSubfield · 30.9 works7.3×
  2. General Health ProfessionsSubfield · 26.6 works7.2×
  3. Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField · 38.0 works6.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.43× its world share, 5 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.06× its world share, 1 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.36× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.34× its world share, 7 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.26× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.32× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.24× its world share, 10 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.15× its world share, 15 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.67× its world share, 5 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 4.65× its world share, 33 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.48× its world share, 24 worksMedicineNursing: 1.50× its world share, 2 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.96× its world share, 7 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.13× its world share, 10 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.94× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 6.67× its world share, 38 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.45× its world share, 12 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.67× its world share, 90 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 6.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 22 fields, with their numbers
  1. Economics, Econometrics and Finance6.67×38 works
  2. Health Professions4.65×33 works
  3. Social Sciences2.67×90 works
  4. Mathematics1.67×5 works
  5. Nursing1.50×2 works
  6. Psychology1.45×12 works
  7. Environmental Science1.15×15 works
  8. Business, Management and Accounting1.13×10 works
  9. Arts and Humanities0.96×7 works
  10. Decision Sciences0.94×2 works
  11. Medicine0.48×24 works
  12. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.43×5 works
  13. Chemistry0.36×2 works
  14. Computer Science0.34×7 works
  15. Energy0.32×1 works
  16. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.26×1 works
  17. Engineering0.24×10 works
  18. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.16×0 works
  19. Neuroscience0.09×0 works
  20. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.06×1 works
  21. Physics and Astronomy0.05×0 works
  22. Materials Science0.01×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Urban Institute?

Ranked on the quality score, Brenda C. Spillman, Timothy Waidmann and Kelly J. Devers lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Urban Institute.

  1. 1 Brenda C. Spillman United States · #167,187 worldwide 4.6k citations · 50 works
  2. 2 Timothy Waidmann United States · #292,220 worldwide 4.7k citations · 97 works
  3. 3 Kelly J. Devers United States · #322,939 worldwide 7.6k citations · 69 works
  4. 4 Genevieve M. Kenney United States · #345,406 worldwide 3.6k citations · 109 works
  5. 5 Martha R. Burt United States · #413,816 worldwide 8.9k citations · 182 works
  6. 6 Jennifer Yahner United States · #470,641 worldwide 2.5k citations · 41 works
  7. 7 Breno Braga United States · #502,433 worldwide 970 citations · 69 works
  8. 8 Robert A. Berenson United States · #511,142 worldwide 5.4k citations · 172 works
  9. 9 Meredith Dank United States · #607,677 worldwide 2.3k citations · 59 works
  10. 10 Daniel S. Gaylin United States · #619,580 worldwide 1.9k citations · 24 works
All ranked researchers at Urban Institute

What are the most cited papers from Urban Institute?

The most cited paper from Urban Institute is "Cultural myths and supports for rape." (Martha R. Burt, 1980), with 2,208 citations. Next come "Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Drug Use, and Violence: Increased Reporting with Computer Survey Technology" (2,064) and "Does Teacher Certification Matter? High School Teacher Certification Status and Student Achievement" (1,041).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Cultural myths and supports for rape. Martha R. Burt · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1980 2,208
2 Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Drug Use, and Violence: Increased Reporting with Computer Survey Technology Charles F. Turner, Leighton C. Ku, Susan Rogers et al. · Science 8 May 1998 2,064
3 Does Teacher Certification Matter? High School Teacher Certification Status and Student Achievement Dan D. Goldhaber, Dominic J. Brewer · Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Jun 2000 1,041
4 Does neighborhood matter? Assessing recent evidence Ingrid Gould Ellen, Margery Austin Turner · Housing Policy Debate 1997 875
5 Transitions from Prison to Community: Understanding Individual Pathways Christy A. Visher, Jeremy Travis · Annual Review of Sociology Review Aug 2003 796
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Urban Institute?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Primary Care, Health Care Utilization, Public Health, Mental Health, Neighborhood Effects, Neoliberalism, Urban Development and Real Estate Market.

▲ 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-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution'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. Public Health16▲ 4.3×26 topics
  2. Mental Health16▲ 4.3×22 topics
  3. Globalization15▲ 2.8×36 topics
  4. Primary Care15▲ 15×11 topics
  5. Health Care Utilization13▲ 45×3 topics
  6. Sustainability12▲ 1.90×26 topics
  7. Neighborhood Effects12▲ 43×3 topics
  8. Neoliberalism12▲ 12×10 topics
  9. Urban Development12▲ 12×7 topics
  10. Real Estate Market10▲ 84×2 topics
  11. Housing Supply10▲ 104×1 topic
  12. Mortgage Credit Expansion10▲ 104×1 topic
  13. Social Support10▲ 6.7×7 topics
  14. Health Care Spending9▲ 91×1 topic
  15. Health Outcomes9▲ 13×6 topics
  16. Insurance Markets9▲ 91×1 topic
  17. Income Inequality9▲ 24×4 topics
  18. Health Equity9▲ 11×5 topics
  19. Urban Poverty9▲ 75×2 topics
  20. Urbanization9▲ 8.1×10 topics
  21. Chronic Disease8▲ 19×4 topics
  22. Economic Growth8▲ 3.4×11 topics
  23. Community Development6▲ 13×4 topics
  24. Health Disparities6▲ 8.7×5 topics
  25. Labor Force Participation6▲ 50×2 topics
  26. Residential Segregation6▲ 138×1 topic
  27. Social Mobility6▲ 75×1 topic
  28. Housing6▲ 45×2 topics
  29. Mortality Risk5▲ 8.4×3 topics
  30. Social Determinants5▲ 9.5×3 topics
  31. Quality Improvement5▲ 9.9×4 topics
  32. Social Inequality5▲ 7.2×3 topics
  33. Food Insecurity5▲ 32×1 topic
  34. Nutritional Consequences5▲ 39×1 topic
  35. Shareholder Value5▲ 17×2 topics
  36. Capital Accumulation5▲ 62×1 topic
  37. Financialization5▲ 19×1 topic
  38. Gender Inequality5▲ 13×6 topics
  39. Racial Disparities5▲ 33×3 topics
  40. Urbanism4▲ 41×2 topics

Which research topics does Urban Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Housing Market and Economics, Healthcare Policy and Management, Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies and Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations.

Housing Market and Economics: 10 fractional worksHealthcare Policy and Management: 9 fractional worksUrban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies: 6 fractional worksFood Security and Health in Diverse Populations: 5 fractional worksHousing, Finance, and Neoliberalism: 5 fractional worksCriminal Justice and Corrections Analysis: 4 fractional worksHealth disparities and o…4Health disparities and outcomes: 4 fractional worksHomelessness and Social Issues: 4 fractional worksFinancial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis: 3 fractional worksUrban and Rural Development Challenges: 3 fractional works
Economics and EconometricsSociology and Political ScienceGeneral Health ProfessionsFinance3 others

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

  1. 1 Housing Market and Economics Economics and Econometrics 10 works
  2. 2 Healthcare Policy and Management Economics and Econometrics 9 works
  3. 3 Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies Sociology and Political Science 6 works
  4. 4 Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations General Health Professions 5 works
  5. 5 Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism Finance 5 works
  6. 6 Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  7. 7 Health disparities and outcomes Health 4 works
  8. 8 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 4 works
  9. 9 Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis Accounting 3 works
  10. 10 Urban and Rural Development Challenges Urban Studies 3 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available31.2%not open68.8%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors8.7%domestic only91.3%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Urban Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 34% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Urban Institute as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0013% in 2024.

still counting0.0025%0.0050%0.0075%Urban Institute0.00096% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Urban Institute over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%Urban Institute14.0% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 22.7% in 1994.

Other research institutions in Washington D.C.

All research institutions in Washington D.C.

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Urban Institute on Science Explorer

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