University profileLexington, KYFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does University of Kentucky get?
University of Kentucky received $87.5 million in federal awards in FY2025, 191st of 998 institutions (top 19%).In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $87.5 million to University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), counting grants, contracts, loans and other awards.
Ranked 191st of 998 by federal awards
FY2025 federal awards, institutions ranked either side of University of Kentucky.
| Thomas Jefferson University #188 · PA | $90M |
| Alamo Community College District (San Antonio) #189 · TX | $90M |
| University of Alabama in Huntsville #190 · AL | $89M |
| University of Kentucky #191 · KY | $88M |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte #192 · NC | $88M |
| Tarrant County College District #193 · TX | $87M |
| University of Montana #194 · MT | $87M |
What the money is
That is up 11.6% from FY2024 ($78.4 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 97.9%. The largest share came as direct payments ($43.0 million, 49.1%). The Department of Education was the biggest funder ($43.0 million). Its largest programs were Federal Pell Grant Program ($39.8 million); Smith-Lever Extension Funding ($10.0 million); Payments to Agricultural Experiment Stations Under the Hatch Act ($6.6 million). It ranks 191st of the 998 institutions on this site by FY2025 total.
What is counted: awards made directly to this institution, under the registered names UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY (UEI JWCSGNNZUZD1, QUKNKLZ4N889). 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
University of Kentucky: $88M in FY2025, up 98% 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
View every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Contracts | Grants | Direct payments | Loans | Insurance and other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | $23.3M | $18.4M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $41.7M |
| FY2019 | $25.0M | $19.2M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $44.2M |
| FY2020 | $23.8M | $37.0M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $60.8M |
| FY2021 | $33.0M | $92.9M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $126.0M |
| FY2022 | $17.7M | $21.5M | $14.0M | $0 | $0 | $53.3M |
| FY2023 | $19.2M | $22.5M | $31.9M | $0 | $0 | $73.6M |
| FY2024 | $20.6M | $22.1M | $35.8M | $0 | $0 | $78.4M |
| FY2025 | $23.2M | $21.4M | $43.0M | $0 | $5,500 | $87.5M |
| FY2026* | $30.0M | $21.7M | $40.7M | $0 | $0 | $92.5M |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to University of Kentucky, 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
| Agency | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | $43.0 million | 49.1% |
| Department of Justice | $22.3 million | 25.5% |
| Department of Agriculture | $19.0 million | 21.8% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2.3 million | 2.7% |
| Department of Defense | $462,809 | 0.5% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $374,691 | 0.4% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $39.8 million | 45.4% |
| Smith-Lever Extension Funding Assistance Listing 10.511 | $10.0 million | 11.4% |
| Payments to Agricultural Experiment Stations Under the Hatch Act Assistance Listing 10.203 | $6.6 million | 7.5% |
| Federal Work-Study Program Assistance Listing 84.033 | $2.5 million | 2.9% |
| Health Center Program Assistance Listing 93.224 | $2.3 million | 2.7% |
| Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program Assistance Listing 10.514 | $1.7 million | 2.0% |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants Assistance Listing 84.007 | $725,371 | 0.8% |
| Cooperative Forestry Research Assistance Listing 10.202 | $666,419 | 0.8% |
| Renewable Resources Extension Act Assistance Listing 10.515 | $68,256 | 0.1% |
| Animal Health and Disease Research Assistance Listing 10.207 | $51,165 | 0.1% |
Other institutions in Kentucky
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation$263M
- University of Louisville$142M
- University of the Cumberlands$42M
- Eastern Kentucky University$42M
- Western Kentucky University$40M
- Kentucky State University$32M
- Bluegrass Community & Technical College$27M
- Kentucky Community & Tech College System (Louisville)$26M
Questions and answers
- How much federal funding does University of Kentucky receive?
- $87.5 million in fiscal year 2025, according to USAspending.gov award data for its registered UEI(s).
- Where does University of Kentucky's federal money come from?
- The largest funder in FY2025 was the Department of Education ($43.0 million, 49.1%). By type, grants were $21.4 million and contracts $23.2 million.
- Did University of Kentucky's federal funding go up or down?
- FY2025: $87.5 million; FY2024: $78.4 million (+11.6%).
Sources and notes
- USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by recipient ID(s) 87653fcf-f47e-7d0c-d45f-ba5925ed7f78-C, a57786e2-7699-a2d8-7b33-6a621d5c9654-C, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.