Where My Taxes Go

University profileAuburn, ALFiscal year 2025

How much federal money does Auburn University get?

Auburn University received $164.3 million in federal awards in FY2025, 114th of 998 institutions (top 11%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $164.3 million to Auburn University (Auburn, AL), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.

FY2025 total
$164M
$164.3 million
Grants
$106M
65% of total
Contracts
$27M
16% of total
Rank
114th
of 998 institutions

Ranked 114th of 998 by federal awards

FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of Auburn University.

Colorado Technical University #111 · CO$166M
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio #112 · TX$165M
University of Massachusetts (Amherst) #113 · MA$165M
Auburn University #114 · AL$164M
Washington State University (Pullman) #115 · WA$163M
University of Texas at Arlington #116 · TX$162M
Mississippi State University #117 · MS$160M

What the money is

That is down 5.6% from FY2024 ($174.1 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 111.3%. The largest share came as grants ($106.1 million, 64.6%). The Department of Agriculture was the biggest funder ($40.0 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($24.4 million); Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species ($12.4 million); Mathematical and Physical Sciences ($10.8 million). It ranks 114th of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.

What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names AUBURN UNIVERSITY (UEI DMQNDJDHTDG4). Money that reaches it as a subaward through another organization is not included. Separately incorporated foundations, hospitals and laboratories have their own records and are not added in. Grouping rules are explained in the methodology.

Federal awards by year

Auburn University: $164M in FY2025, up 111% on FY2019

Federal award obligations by fiscal year and type, FY2018–FY2026, nominal dollars. FY26* is preliminary and still filling in.

  • Insurance and other
  • Loans (subsidy cost)
  • Direct payments
  • Grants
  • Contracts
$0$50M$100M$150M$200MFY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26*$164M$0$50M$100M$150M$200M'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26*$164M
View every year as a table
Fiscal yearContractsGrantsDirect paymentsLoansInsurance and otherTotal
FY2018$5.9M$55.7M$0$0$1.5M$63.1M
FY2019$7.8M$67.2M$0$0$2.7M$77.7M
FY2020$8.0M$84.1M$0$0$6.4M$98.5M
FY2021$8.2M$140.1M$993,466$0$9.3M$158.6M
FY2022$12.0M$78.1M$9.6M$0$15.0M$114.6M
FY2023$7.1M$132.7M$23.5M$0$16.4M$179.7M
FY2024$14.2M$111.6M$23.4M$0$24.8M$174.1M
FY2025$26.5M$106.1M$31.4M$0$317,701$164.3M
FY2026*$10.4M$94.8M$24.4M$0$48,977$129.6M

B = billion, M = million. Loans are the subsidy cost the government records. * FY2026 (October 2025 to September 2026) is preliminary: agencies keep reporting after the year ends, and Department of Defense contract data is published with a 90-day delay. Negative amounts are net de-obligations (money taken back from earlier awards).

Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).

Who pays and for what, FY2025

The agencies that obligated the most to Auburn University, and the largest federal programs. Programs are federal Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA numbers); contracts have no listing number, so they do not appear there.

Top awarding agencies

AgencyFY2025Share
Department of Agriculture$40.0 million24.4%
Department of Education$30.9 million18.8%
National Science Foundation$27.0 million16.5%
Department of Defense$16.2 million9.9%
Department of the Interior$13.0 million7.9%
Department of Health and Human Services$10.1 million6.2%
Department of Homeland Security$10.1 million6.2%
Department of Transportation$10.0 million6.1%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$2.4 million1.5%
Department of Commerce$2.0 million1.2%

Top programs

ProgramFY2025Share
Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063$24.4 million14.8%
Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species Assistance Listing 15.608$12.4 million7.5%
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049$10.8 million6.6%
Agricultural Research Basic and Applied Research Assistance Listing 10.001$8.8 million5.3%
Smith-Lever Extension Funding Assistance Listing 10.511$7.6 million4.6%
Airport Improvement Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs, and COVID-19 Airports Programs Assistance Listing 20.106$7.5 million4.6%
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Assistance Listing 10.551$5.8 million3.5%
Payments to Agricultural Experiment Stations Under the Hatch Act Assistance Listing 10.203$5.3 million3.2%
Integrative Activities Assistance Listing 47.083$5.1 million3.1%
Biological Sciences Assistance Listing 47.074$5.0 million3.0%

Other institutions in Alabama

All institutions in Alabama

Federal money to Alabama

Questions and answers

How much federal funding does Auburn University receive?
$164.3 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
Where does Auburn University's federal money come from?
The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Agriculture ($40.0 million, 24.4%). By type, grants were $106.1 million and contracts $26.5 million.
Did Auburn University's federal funding go up or down?
FY2025: $164.3 million; FY2024: $174.1 million (-5.6%).

Sources and notes

  1. USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by recipient ID(s) dff5ea13-87ef-1d23-7ba0-fbf570ef2475-C, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
  2. How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.