PlainSpending

Baltimore County

$8.7B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $10,159 per capita.

Maryland · FIPS 24005

In FY2025, Baltimore County in Maryland posted a dense absolute book of $8.7B ($10,159 per capita across 854,535 residents). That is 35.1% below the national average and 40.6% below the Maryland average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #11 of 24.

Total spending
$8.7B
Per capita
$10,159
vs. national avg
-35.1%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Baltimore County sits #76 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($8.7B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 25%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$10,159
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
59.5% of tracked spending
Maryland rank
#11 of 24

How Baltimore County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Baltimore County vs. Maryland and the nation

Baltimore County$10,159Maryland avg$17,102National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 854,535 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Baltimore County

Top awarding agencies in Baltimore County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$4.3BDepartment of Health and Hum…$2.4BDepartment of Defense$530.6M
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Social Security Administration is the most common leading agency nationally, topping 89.7% of agency-tracked counties.

These 3 agencies together account for $7.3B (84%) of Baltimore County's $8.7B 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 - Baltimore 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 $4.3B 59.5%
Department of Health and Human Services $2.4B 33.2%
Department of Defense $530.6M 7.3%

How Baltimore County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$10,159 Top 25% higher than 75% of 3,224 US counties

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

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

Baltimore County Among Maryland's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Maryland by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Baltimore 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. Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Maryland by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Baltimore County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Montgomery County 1,062,061 $16,975 $18.0B
Prince George'S County 967,201 $10,518 $10.2B
Baltimore County (this county) 854,535 $10,159 $8.7B
Anne Arundel County 588,261 $14,340 $8.4B
Baltimore City 585,708 $18,533 $10.9B
Howard County 332,317 $25,853 $8.6B
Frederick County 271,717 $11,446 $3.1B
Harford County 260,924 $15,632 $4.1B
Carroll County 172,891 $6,719 $1.2B
Charles County 166,617 $8,458 $1.4B
Washington County 154,705 $7,289 $1.1B
St. Mary'S County 113,777 $47,173 $5.4B
Cecil County 103,725 $7,546 $782.7M
Wicomico County 103,588 $6,655 $689.4M
Calvert County 92,783 $7,474 $693.5M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Baltimore County's $10,159 - prioritizing Maryland peers first.

Worcester County

Maryland

$10,399 per capita

$545.5M total

Prince George'S County

Maryland

$10,518 per capita

$10.2B total

Kent County

Maryland

$9,215 per capita

$176.9M total

Frederick County

Maryland

$11,446 per capita

$3.1B total

Charles County

Maryland

$8,458 per capita

$1.4B total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Maryland - per-resident intensity and total obligation volume, distinct from the same-state neighbors above.

Similar per-capita spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by federal spending per resident ($10,159 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($8.7B here).

Counties with fewer than 10,000 residents are excluded from the nationwide comparison corpus.

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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.

Verify with USASpending.gov → Verify population with U.S. Census Bureau →