The AI scholarship & funding boom map: Where investment is growing fastest

Two students sit in a classroom, one holding a red tablet and looking forward attentively.

This new Sallie report focuses on AI-related education funding awarded to U.S. colleges, universities, and research institutions, as reported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The funding data we analyzed includes research grants, education programs, fellowships, and scholarship programs that reference artificial intelligence or related fields.

Using that data, we ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia by where AI-related education funding is growing, and how that funding is distributed across institution types and regions. For students considering college, understanding where this funding is concentrated and what types of programs it supports can be a useful starting point for planning next steps.

Key takeaways

  • The U.S. has seen 2,716 new AI-related awards (including education grants, fellowships, scholarships, and program funding) since 2022, with California (+309), Texas (+211), and New York (+188) accounting for more than a quarter of that growth.
  • California ranks No. 1 for AI education funding distribution, with the highest number of new awards and funding spread across more institutions than any other state.
  • New Mexico ranks No. 2 for AI education funding distribution, with 69.6% going to HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community colleges (more than double that of any other state).
  • The top 5 states for award growth accounted for 35.4% of new AI-related education awards (962 of 2,716 awards).

Here's a key term to know before exploring the rankings:

AI education funding: Federal money supporting AI-related teaching, research, and student programs at U.S. colleges, universities, and research institutions. Includes research grants, fellowships, scholarships, and program funding.

A state-level look at AI education funding

AI-related education funding has grown significantly since 2022, though that growth is concentrated in a relatively small number of states.

The AI education funding index

Final rank State Final score Funding volume & growth rank Institution type distribution rank Funding distribution rank Program type breadth rank Workforce-connected awards rank
1 California 100.00 2 26 1 15 37
2 New Mexico 99.38 31 1 31 36 11
3 Massachusetts 86.42 6 30 2 2 39
4 New York 82.09 4 19 3 11 28
5 District of Columbia 79.68 1 7 46 31 49
6 Texas 75.84 3 23 6 25 25
7 North Carolina 73.42 10 4 8 22 12
8 Florida 72.01 8 14 4 5 35
9 Tennessee 70.44 28 6 11 7 9
10 Virginia 68.84 13 12 5 3 36
11 Alabama 68.45 20 5 15 35 5
12 Montana 68.04 40 2 37 43 6
13 South Dakota 67.22 33 30 17 9 4
14 Pennsylvania 65.35 5 27 9 15 37
15 Louisiana 64.77 27 16 10 17 12
16 New Jersey 64.09 17 20 7 13 34
17 Illinois 63.76 9 22 12 8 31
18 Maine 63.27 46 30 45 42 1
19 West Virginia 62.59 51 30 34 45 2
20 North Dakota 60.40 43 3 38 48 3
21 Ohio 59.27 19 15 13 37 19
22 Mississippi 58.54 39 9 35 26 8
23 Indiana 58.05 11 30 26 31 15
24 Iowa 56.07 30 16 32 26 12
25 Arizona 55.76 24 24 20 29 18
26 Maryland 55.31 15 11 18 14 46
27 Rhode Island 53.79 12 21 49 12 21
28 Michigan 53.31 7 30 30 21 45
29 South Carolina 52.95 22 30 40 17 16
30 Idaho 51.83 32 12 44 19 22
31 Missouri 51.74 23 30 24 24 28
32 Georgia 51.64 16 27 23 1 50
33 Oregon 51.42 37 30 14 31 28
34 Colorado 51.06 14 27 21 46 20
35 Utah 50.93 29 8 27 31 44
36 Arkansas 50.46 48 30 16 23 32
37 Nevada 50.46 36 30 29 28 22
38 Oklahoma 50.01 26 16 42 6 41
39 Wisconsin 49.03 21 25 41 39 24
40 Minnesota 48.11 34 30 47 4 26
41 Connecticut 47.00 25 30 19 30 48
42 Delaware 46.18 35 30 50 19 26
43 Nebraska 46.14 41 9 39 41 40
44 Vermont 46.08 42 30 33 49 6
45 New Hampshire 46.04 44 30 28 38 32
46 Washington 45.84 18 30 43 10 47
47 Kentucky 41.57 38 30 36 44 42
48 Hawaii 41.52 49 30 51 47 10
49 Kansas 41.34 47 30 25 40 51
50 Alaska 37.06 50 30 22 51 17
51 Wyoming 30.70 45 30 48 50 42

The U.S. has seen 2,716 new AI-related education awards, including education grants, fellowships, scholarships, and program funding, added since 2022. California (+309), Texas (+211), and New York (+188) alone account for more than a quarter of all new awards. California ranked first overall, leading in total new awards and in how widely funding was distributed across institutions.

Within that total, 102 awards came from NSF programs designed specifically to fund student scholarships, including the S-STEM Program (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, totaling $180.2 million in funding. Texas led with 10 scholarship-program awards, followed by North Carolina (8), with New York and California tied at 6 each.

New Mexico ranked second overall for AI education funding, with nearly 70% reaching HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community colleges. New Mexico also ranks among the top states for awards that include internship, apprenticeship, or workforce development components.

Here's a quick breakdown of the top and bottom 10 states, including the District of Columbia:

Top 10 states for AI-related education funding

  1. California
  2. New Mexico
  3. Massachusetts
  4. New York
  5. District of Columbia
  6. Texas
  7. North Carolina
  8. Florida
  9. Tennessee
  10. Virginia

Bottom 10 states for AI-related education funding

51. Wyoming

50. Alaska

49. Kansas

48. Hawaii

47. Kentucky

46. Washington

45. New Hampshire

44. Vermont

43. Nebraska

42. Delaware

How AI-related education funding is distributed

A factor-by-factor breakdown of AI-related education funding across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, showing the top 5 and bottom 5 states for each of the six ranking factors: funding per capita, award growth, institution type distribution, funding concentration, type diversity, and workforce integration.

A closer look at each ranking factor reveals where AI-related education funding is most and least concentrated:

  • Funding volume per capita: The District of Columbia leads at $377.25 per resident ($255.8M total), while West Virginia ranks lowest at $1.63 per resident ($2.9M total).
  • Funding growth: California added the most new awards (+309), while Wyoming and North Dakota added the fewest (+7 each).
  • Institution type distribution: New Mexico directed 69.6% of its funding to HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community colleges, while 22 other states directed none.
  • Funding distribution: California, Massachusetts, and New York had the most broadly distributed funding across schools within their state, while Hawaii and Delaware had the most concentrated.
  • Grant diversity: Georgia and Massachusetts offer the broadest mix of AI ethics, applied AI, and STEM-related funding, while Alaska and Wyoming have the narrowest.
  • Workforce integration: Maine leads with 77.8% of awards including workforce development components, while Kansas ranks lowest at 21.4%.

The top 5 ranked states for AI-related education funding also differ in how their funding is distributed across AI ethics, applied AI, and STEM education. Here are the leaders in each category:

  • Massachusetts stands out for its high share of awards related to AI ethics: 26.6%
  • Massachusetts also has the highest share of education funding for applied AI: 42.2%
  • New Mexico has the highest share going toward STEM education: 56.5%

AI education awards can be tagged in more than one focus area, so the percentages below do not sum to 100%.

AI-related education funding by focus area

Final rank State AI ethics Applied AI STEM education Total awards
1 California 15.1% 40.3% 49.5% 325
2 New Mexico 13.0% 26.1% 56.5% 23
3 Massachusetts 26.6% 42.2% 46.9% 128
4 New York 15.9% 39.5% 46.2% 195
5 District of Columbia 14.6% 19.5% 48.8% 41

It's also worth noting that this data tracks funding at the institutional level, not the student level. A student from any state can attend a well-funded institution and potentially access that funding.

How students can use this data

Students considering college and those who support them can use this information to focus their research geographically. Students don't have to be limited by where they live. Expanding your scholarship search beyond your home state, applying to a wider range of programs, and considering schools with stronger AI-related education funding can open up more options. Scholly Scholarship Search can help simplify that process, matching you with opportunities that fit your goals regardless of where you live.

In addition to scholarships, families can use Sallie's Scout College Search to compare schools on factors beyond cost, including funding availability, program offerings, and career outcomes.

Starting early also makes a difference. Students who begin exploring scholarships and programs before senior year have more time to build strong applications, apply to more opportunities, and make well-informed enrollment decisions.

Methodology

This index ranks all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia based on factors that shape how AI-related education funding is distributed across institutions and regions. Drawing exclusively from publicly available federal datasets, the index provides a data-driven look at where AI education funding is more limited or concentrated.

Data sources and factors considered

The index is built on 6 scoring dimensions organized into 5 core categories, each weighted to reflect its relative importance to how AI education funding is distributed.

Scoring categories and weights

Funding volume and award growth — 20 points

  • AI education funding per capita (12 points): The total dollar value of AI-related education funding per state, adjusted for population, capturing the intensity of AI funding investment relative to the number of residents each state serves. This funding includes research grants, education programs, fellowships, and scholarship programs that reference artificial intelligence or related fields.

Source: NSF Award Search, U.S. Census Bureau

  • Award growth (8 points): The absolute increase in new AI education awards from the 2022–2023 period to the 2024–2026 period, measuring whether states are accelerating investment in AI education funding or remaining stagnant.

Source: NSF Award Search

Institutional distribution — 25 points

  • Institution share (25 points): The combined percentage of each state's AI education grants awarded to HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community colleges. Using IPEDS classification data as a crosswalk against NSF award recipients, this factor directly measures how funding is distributed across these institution types.

Source: NSF Award Search, IPEDS

Federal funding concentration — 20 points (Inverted Score)

  • State-level funding distribution (20 points): How evenly AI education grants are spread across institutions within each state. States where funding reaches many schools score higher; states where 1 or 2 universities receive nearly all the grants score lower.

Source: NSF Award Search

Grant breadth — 15 points

  • Grant diversity (15 points): Whether a state's AI education grants cover a balanced mix of AI ethics, applied AI, and STEM education, or lean heavily toward one area. States with a well-rounded portfolio score higher; states with a narrow focus score lower.

Source: NSF Award Search

Workforce connections — 20 points

  • Workforce components (20 points): The percentage of AI-related education grants per state that include internship, apprenticeship, or workforce development components. States with a higher share of awards including these components score higher; states where funding is tuition-only score lower.

Source: NSF Award Search

Data notes

  • The index draws exclusively from the NSF Award Search, which captures federally funded AI education grants identified through keyword analysis of award titles and abstracts. Awards that do not reference artificial intelligence or related terminology may not be captured in this dataset.
  • Institution classifications (HBCU, tribal college, community college, R1) were matched by cross-referencing NSF award recipient names against the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics database. Approximately 72.8% of awards were successfully matched; unmatched awards are classified as "Other" and do not contribute to the institution type distribution factor.
  • The award growth sub-factor compares new awards from 2022–2023 with those from 2024–2026. The earlier period contains a smaller sample of awards, which may overstate growth in states with minimal early activity. This sub-factor accounts for 8 of 100 total index points.
  • The dataset is presented at the state level but reflects federal grants from the NSF Award Search only. It does not include funding awarded by state governments (state scholarship programs, state higher-education budgets), private foundation scholarships, corporate scholarships, or comprehensive K–12 education funding.

About Sallie

Sallie is an education-solutions company that helps guide students and families through the entire higher-education journey with trusted tools, free-money-first support, and clear guidance from day one to done. Sallie helps students find scholarships, navigate financial aid, plan for college with Scout, and feel more confident about the steps ahead. 

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