PlainSpending

Benton County

$208.7M in FY2025 federal spending, $8,160 per capita.

Iowa · FIPS 19011

In FY2025, Benton County in Iowa received $208.7M in federal spending - $8,160 per capita for a population of 25,575. This is 47.8% below the national average and 28.6% below the Iowa average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #43 of 99 Iowa counties.

Total spending
$208.7M
Per capita
$8,160
vs. national avg
-47.8%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Mid-ladder absolute book

Benton County is mid-pack on absolute obligations (#1588 of 3,224, $208.7M).

Mid-ladder absolute book

Benton County posts above-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 50%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$8,160
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
77.6% of tracked spending
Iowa rank
#43 of 99

How Benton County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Benton County vs. Iowa and the nation

Benton County$8,160Iowa avg$11,432National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 25,575 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Benton County

Top awarding agencies in Benton County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$147.8MDepartment of Agriculture$30.2MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$12.4M
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 $190.4M (91.3%) of Benton County's $208.7M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Benton 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 $147.8M 77.6%
Department of Agriculture $30.2M 15.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs $12.4M 6.5%

How Benton County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$8,160 Higher than most higher than 50% 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

Benton County Among Iowa's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Iowa by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Benton County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 16 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 0200,000400,000600,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Iowa by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Benton County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Polk County 492,401 $8,689 $4.3B
Linn County 230,299 $14,286 $3.3B
Scott County 174,669 $6,475 $1.1B
Johnson County 152,854 $7,353 $1.1B
Black Hawk County 131,144 $7,035 $922.6M
Woodbury County 105,941 $6,667 $706.3M
Dallas County 99,678 $5,045 $502.9M
Dubuque County 99,266 $7,862 $780.4M
Story County 98,537 $8,246 $812.5M
Pottawattamie County 93,667 $7,177 $672.3M
Warren County 52,403 $6,537 $342.5M
Clinton County 46,460 $7,884 $366.3M
Muscatine County 43,235 $7,062 $305.3M
Cerro Gordo County 43,127 $8,675 $374.1M
Marshall County 40,105 $7,031 $282.0M
Benton County (this county) 25,575 $8,160 $208.7M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Benton County's $8,160 - prioritizing Iowa peers first.

Winneshiek County

Iowa

$8,184 per capita

$164.2M total

Van Buren County

Iowa

$8,207 per capita

$59.1M total

Mills County

Iowa

$8,106 per capita

$117.4M total

Buchanan County

Iowa

$8,100 per capita

$166.6M total

Cedar County

Iowa

$8,098 per capita

$149.9M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Iowa - 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 ($8,160 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($208.7M 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 →