PlainSpending

Beaufort County

$2.0B in FY2025 federal spending, $10,683 per capita.

South Carolina · FIPS 45013

In FY2025, Beaufort County in South Carolina received $2.0B in federal spending - $10,683 per capita for a population of 187,117. This is 31.7% below the national average and 60.1% below the South Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #11 of 46 South Carolina counties.

Total spending
$2.0B
Per capita
$10,683
vs. national avg
-31.7%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Beaufort County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 21%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$10,683
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
81.6% of tracked spending
South Carolina rank
#11 of 46

How Beaufort County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Beaufort County vs. South Carolina and the nation

Top 21% nationally
Beaufort County$10,683South Carolina avg$26,788National avg$15,647

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

Population: 187,117 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Beaufort County

Top awarding agencies in Beaufort County, FY2025

Social Security Administration$1.5BDepartment of Veterans Affairs$195.9MDepartment of Defense$136.3M

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 $1.8B (90.5%) of Beaufort County's $2.0B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Beaufort 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 $1.5B 81.6%
Department of Veterans Affairs $195.9M 10.8%
Department of Defense $136.3M 7.5%

How Beaufort County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$10,683 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

Beaufort County Among South Carolina's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in South Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Beaufort 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. 0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 15 largest-population counties in South Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Beaufort County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Greenville County 525,534 $7,449 $3.9B
Richland County 416,147 $192,829 $80.2B
Charleston County 408,235 $12,584 $5.1B
Horry County 351,029 $11,512 $4.0B
Spartanburg County 327,997 $6,888 $2.3B
Lexington County 293,991 $8,070 $2.4B
York County 282,090 $6,524 $1.8B
Berkeley County 229,861 $10,111 $2.3B
Anderson County 203,718 $7,499 $1.5B
Beaufort County (this county) 187,117 $10,683 $2.0B
Aiken County 168,808 $28,549 $4.8B
Dorchester County 161,540 $6,878 $1.1B
Florence County 137,059 $7,201 $987.0M
Pickens County 131,404 $7,711 $1.0B
Sumter County 105,556 $11,961 $1.3B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Beaufort County's $10,683 - prioritizing South Carolina peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Beaufort County, South Carolina receive?
Beaufort County received $2.0B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $10,683 per capita for the county's population of 187,117.
How does Beaufort County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Beaufort County's per capita federal spending of $10,683 is 31.7% below the national average of $15,647. Compared to the South Carolina average of $26,788, it is 60.1% below.
What is the population of Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Beaufort County has a population of 187,117 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $10,683.
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.