PlainSpending

Ada County

$5.3B in FY2025 federal spending, $10,803 per capita.

Idaho · FIPS 16001

In FY2025, Ada County in Idaho received $5.3B in federal spending - $10,803 per capita for a population of 494,967. This is 31.0% below the national average and 12.9% below the Idaho average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #10 of 44 Idaho counties.

Total spending
$5.3B
Per capita
$10,803
vs. national avg
-31.0%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Ada County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 21%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$10,803
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
62.2% of tracked spending
Idaho rank
#10 of 44

How Ada County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Ada County vs. Idaho and the nation

Top 21% nationally
Ada County$10,803Idaho avg$12,406National avg$15,647

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 494,967 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Ada County

Top awarding agencies in Ada County, FY2025

Social Security Administration$2.3BDepartment of Health and Huma…$808.0MDepartment of Commerce$592.4M

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Social Security Administration is the most common leading agency nationally, topping 86% of agency-tracked counties.

These 3 agencies together account for $3.7B (69.4%) of Ada County's $5.3B in total tracked federal spending -- the remainder is spread across smaller awarding agencies not individually broken out in this dataset.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Ada County has no smaller residual awarding agencies broken out beyond this set, a compact agency footprint rather than a long tail of minor awardees.

Read the agency breakdown as a table
Agency Spending Share
Social Security Administration $2.3B 62.2%
Department of Health and Human Services $808.0M 21.8%
Department of Commerce $592.4M 16%

How Ada County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$10,803 Top 21% higher than 79% of 3,224 US counties

This county $0 $20K+ all US counties, per-capita spending, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $1K-wide band; taller bars hold more US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Ada County Among Idaho's Largest Counties

Population vs. per-capita spending: Idaho's biggest counties

The 15 largest-population counties in Idaho by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Ada County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 15 entities by Population (X) and Spending per capita ($) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. 0200,000400,000600,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 15 largest-population counties in Idaho by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Ada County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Ada County (this county) 494,967 $10,803 $5.3B
Canyon County 231,105 $6,107 $1.4B
Kootenai County 171,362 $8,528 $1.5B
Bonneville County 123,964 $25,455 $3.2B
Twin Falls County 90,046 $6,444 $580.2M
Bannock County 87,018 $8,654 $753.0M
Madison County 52,913 $3,628 $192.0M
Bingham County 47,992 $7,416 $355.9M
Bonner County 47,110 $9,611 $452.8M
Nez Perce County 42,090 $9,141 $384.8M
Latah County 39,517 $8,551 $337.9M
Jefferson County 30,891 $5,888 $181.9M
Elmore County 28,666 $10,152 $291.0M
Payette County 25,386 $7,587 $192.6M
Cassia County 24,655 $5,873 $144.8M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Ada County's $10,803 - prioritizing Idaho peers first.

Compare states side-by-side in the compare tool →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Ada County, Idaho receive?
Ada County received $5.3B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $10,803 per capita for the county's population of 494,967.
How does Ada County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Ada County's per capita federal spending of $10,803 is 31.0% below the national average of $15,647. Compared to the Idaho average of $12,406, it is 12.9% below.
What is the population of Ada County, Idaho?
Ada County has a population of 494,967 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $10,803.
Data Source: USASpending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), Fiscal Year 2025. Population denominators are U.S. Census Bureau vintage estimates. County-level spending includes all federal awards with place of performance in this county; OMB budget categorizations are reflected at the agency level.

Every figure on PlainSpending is computed directly from USASpending.gov award-transaction data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates every federal award with a place-of-performance in this county, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.