National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago

What National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago does

NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded in 1941 and affiliated with the University of Chicago. It conducts objective, nonpartisan survey research, data collection, policy evaluation, and analytic studies for federal and state government agencies, foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Washington D.C., Albuquerque, Atlanta, Cambridge, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, and Wichita, NORC employs 1,001–5,000 staff and has studied almost every major social issue for more than eight decades.

The organization operates a proprietary research infrastructure anchored by AmeriSpeak — a probability-based household panel covering more than 97% of US households — and Amplify AAPI, the first research panel designed to scientifically represent Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities with address-based sampling in five languages. NORC runs large-scale federal studies including the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (220 field interviewers, 35,000+ surveys annually, 14,000+ beneficiaries), the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, and High School and Beyond. Additional solutions include the AP-NORC polling partnership with the Associated Press, the Civic Health & Elections Project, Foresight 50+, the NORC Data Enclave, NORC VizStudio, the Social Data Collaboratory, and the Veterans Insight Panel. In June 2026, NORC launched the Center on AI & Data Quality (AIDQ), and it maintains proprietary AI tools including an AI-Generated Response Detector and the Trusted Health Information Assistant (THIA).

NORC generates revenue through multi-year federal government research contracts, custom corporate and nonprofit engagements, and AmeriSpeak multi-client panel subscriptions priced on a quote basis. Notable clients include the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CDC, NIH, NSF, AARP, the Associated Press, Stanford, Yale, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The organization holds CMMI Level 2, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, SOC 2, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA certifications, which serve as a regulatory barrier to entry on federal healthcare and government survey contracts.

Name

National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago

Legal name

National Opinion Research Center

Website

https://norc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

NORC is an independent nonprofit research organization founded in 1941 and affiliated with the University of Chicago, delivering survey research, data collection, and policy evaluation to federal agencies, foundations, and corporations through its AmeriSpeak probability-based household panel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Research Contracts: NORC conducts large-scale federally funded research projects for agencies including CDC, CMS, NIH, NSF, Census Bureau, and various federal departments. These are typically multi-year contract engagements for survey research, data collection, and policy evaluation.
2. Corporate and Nonprofit Client Research: Custom research engagements with private sector companies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations requiring survey research, public opinion polling, and data analytics services.
3. AmeriSpeak Multi-Client Panel Services: NORC's AmeriSpeak platform offers bi-monthly omnibus surveys and custom survey capabilities to multiple clients simultaneously, providing cost-effective access to nationally representative data.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NORC is an objective, nonpartisan research organization that conducts custom survey research, data collection, statistical analysis, and policy evaluation for federal agencies, corporations, foundations, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Core offerings include the AmeriSpeak probability-based household panel, multilingual survey capabilities, AI-driven data quality tools, secure data enclaves, and end-to-end research services spanning strategy, design, data collection, analytics, and evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AmeriSpeak: NORC's premier multi-client, panel-based research platform providing probability-based national survey capabilities
• Amplify AAPI
• AP-NORC
• The Bridge at NORC
• Civic Health & Elections Project
• Foresight 50+
• NORC Data Enclave
• NORC VizStudio
• Social Data Collaboratory
• Veterans Insight Panel

Products and services

• AmeriSpeak Panel
• Amplify AAPI Panel
• NORC Data Enclave
• NORC VizStudio
• Civic Health & Elections Project
• Veterans Insight Panel
• AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
• The Bridge at NORC
• Foresight 50+
• Social Data Collaboratory
• NORC Center on AI & Data Quality (AIDQ)

Quantifiable outcome

• Created first-ever NHCS public use files for inpatient stays and emergency department visits in 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers41 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federal and state agencies, foundations, technology companies, and peer research organizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026NORC's Center on AI & Data Quality (AIDQ) partners with federal and state agencies, foundations, technology companies, and peer research organizations to establish data quality frameworks that leaders can use to evaluate AI systems and inform decisions.
• Foundations, researchers, businesses, news organizations, and civic organizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026NORC is seeking sponsors and collaborators to shape the Civic Health & Elections Project research, expand its reach, and increase impact. Organizations committed to independent, transparent, and accessible research designed to improve civic discourse and decision-making.
• AARPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2024Partnership with AARP to develop the Amplify AAPI research panel specifically designed to scientifically represent Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Joint development of the first nationally representative multilingual research panel for AANHPI populations.
• University of MinnesotacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with University of Minnesota for the High School and Beyond longitudinal study, tracking 1980 sophomores and seniors to understand influence of education and labor on health and aging.
• Yale School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNORC partnered with Yale School of Medicine to develop and test clinical decision support tool for pneumonia diagnosis based on CURB-65, including usability testing and implementation toolkit development.
• Colorado Health InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNORC became survey partner for the Colorado Health Access Survey in 2021, conducting high-quality data collection on Coloradoans' health coverage and access to care. Survey collected over 10,000 interviews in English and Spanish.
• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS/CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create nationally representative hospital utilization estimates using NHCS data and commercial hospital database, enabling first-ever public use files for 2020 data.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for America in One Room deliberative polling experiment to bridge American partisanship through innovative democratic engagement methods.
• National Center for Science & Engineering StatisticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to apply innovative data science methods and AI tools for enhancing data quality, standardization, and integration to support evidence-based decision-making.
• Alfred P. Sloan FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partnership for examining the use of AI in graduate STEM education and its effect on fostering educational excellence and broadening impact.
• The SCAN FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for the Long-Term Care Poll series - comprehensive studies on long-term care and aging in America.
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Food Allergies TrueNorth Survey using innovative methods to track Americans' food allergies, in collaboration with USC and Stanford University.
• The Andrew W. Mellon FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for National Survey of Artists - first nationally representative portrait of working artists in the United States.
• American Press InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Media Insight Project examining the public's consumption of and attitudes toward media and journalism, in collaboration with Northwestern Medill and University of Maryland.
• Consumer Representatives to NAICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership examining how health insurers use AI for utilization management, investigating the intersection of AI technology and healthcare administration.
• American Health Information Management AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership examining the current state of the health information workforce and the use of artificial intelligence in the field.
• University of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNORC is an affiliate of the University of Chicago and maintains teaching and research linkages with the university. Headquarters located on the University campus.
• M. Harris & Co.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal partner providing messaging and writing support for website content.
• Prime Access ConsultingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal partner for accessibility consulting services.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple partnerships with CMS including Financial Alignment Initiative demonstration, Medicare-Medicaid Coordination, and Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight support.
• U.S. Health & Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and EvaluationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for National Center of Excellence for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Data - multi-pronged effort to improve data capacity for patient-centered outcomes research.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and QualitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for AHRQ Safety Program for MRSA Prevention - scaling and evaluating evidence-based approach to MRSA prevention in hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• RAND Corporation: RAND is a nonprofit research institution delivering objective, nonpartisan analysis on policy and social science issues with a comparable operating model, client mix, and methodological focus on rigorous quantitative and survey-based research.
• Westat: Westat is a large employee-owned research firm providing survey research, statistical, and evaluation services to federal agencies — the closest direct comparator on federal contract work and survey methodology. Ting Yan, NORC's AmeriSpeak Chief Scientist, spent 10 years at Westat.
• KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation): KFF is a nonpartisan health policy research organization conducting public opinion polling and survey research on healthcare issues — directly comparable in mission, methodology, and federal/nonprofit client mix. Michelle Strollo previously did Medicare/Medicaid policy research at KFF.
• RTI International: RTI International is an independent nonprofit research institute conducting survey research, statistical analysis, and program evaluation for federal and commercial clients — directly comparable scale and federal contract profile to NORC.
• Gallup: Gallup is a global analytics and advisory firm best known for public opinion polling, with comparable AmeriSpeak-like panel infrastructure and direct overlap on media polling, workforce surveys, and federal government research contracts.
• Abt Global: Abt Global is a research and consulting firm serving federal agencies on health, environment, and social policy research with comparable survey capabilities. Ting Yan was previously a survey methodologist at Abt Global before joining NORC.
• SSRS: SSRS is a survey research and analytics firm specializing in public opinion polling, program evaluation, and panel-based research for media, academic, and nonprofit clients — closely comparable on methodology, client mix, and polling brand affiliations such as AP-NORC counterparts.
• Pew Research Center: Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that conducts public opinion polling and demographic research, sharing NORC's methodology rigor, nonpartisan positioning, and primary customer overlap with media organizations and federal agencies.
• Mathematica: Mathematica is a nonpartisan research and policy firm conducting survey research, program evaluation, and data analytics for federal agencies and foundations — directly overlapping NORC's federal and foundation client base and project mix.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Ipsos is a large global market research and public opinion firm with significant U.S. survey operations, broader geographic reach than NORC, and overlapping capabilities in consumer, public affairs, and healthcare research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/norcnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/NORCatUofC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago