Our Methodology
How we collect, classify, and present patent data from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
The Data Pipeline
Fetch Patents
We query the USPTO PatentsView API for all utility patents granted since 2016, pulling inventor locations and classifications.
Map to Locations
Each patent is attributed to a state based on the inventor's listed address. Multi-inventor patents are counted in each inventor's state.
Classify by CPC
Patents are categorized using the Cooperative Patent Classification system. CPC sections map to our six technology categories.
Aggregate & Rank
Totals are computed per state, university, and category. Entities are ranked nationally and growth rates are calculated year over year.
How We Count Patents
Patents are attributed to states based on the listed addresses of their inventors. If a patent has inventors in multiple states, it is counted once in each state. This means a patent co-invented by researchers in California and Massachusetts appears in both states' totals. This approach gives the most accurate picture of where inventive activity actually occurs.
Technology Categories
We map the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system into six intuitive technology areas. Here's how CPC sections translate to our categories.
Biotech & Life Sciences
Human necessities including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and food technology.
Mechanical & Manufacturing
Operations, transport, textiles, paper, building construction, and industrial manufacturing processes.
Chemistry & Materials
Chemical compounds, metallurgy, polymers, paints, petroleum, and materials science.
Energy & Environment
Engines, pumps, heating, lighting, weapons, blasting, and renewable energy technologies.
Software & Computing
Computing, data processing, measurement instruments, optics, and information technology.
Electronics & Semiconductors
Electrical circuits, semiconductors, wireless communication, audio/video technology, and power generation.
University Matching
Universities are linked to patents through the assignee field in USPTO records. When a patent lists a university (or its affiliated foundation) as the assignee, we match it to our database of accredited U.S. institutions from the Department of Education. This captures patents produced by university research labs, faculty, and graduate students.
Growth Calculation
Year-over-year (YoY) growth is calculated as the percentage change in patent grants between the two most recent complete calendar years (currently 2023 vs. 2024). We skip the current year because its data is still accumulating, which would artificially deflate the growth figure.
Data Coverage
2016-01-01 to present
Last updated: 2026-02-22
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How Patents Work