PlainSpending

Berkeley County

$2.3B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $10,111 per capita.

South Carolina · FIPS 45015

In FY2025, Berkeley County in South Carolina posted a dense absolute book of $2.3B ($10,111 per capita across 229,861 residents). That is 35.4% below the national average and 62.3% below the South Carolina average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #14 of 46.

Total spending
$2.3B
Per capita
$10,111
vs. national avg
-35.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Berkeley County sits #278 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($2.3B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Berkeley County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Social Security Administration, among several agencies.

National per-capita rank
Top 25%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$10,111
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
47.8% of tracked spending
South Carolina rank
#14 of 46

How Berkeley County Compares

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

Berkeley County$10,111South Carolina avg$26,788National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 229,861 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Berkeley County

Top awarding agencies in Berkeley County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$1.1BDepartment of Defense$710.1MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$539.9M
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 $2.4B (100%) of Berkeley County's $2.3B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Berkeley 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 $1.1B 47.8%
Department of Defense $710.1M 29.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs $539.9M 22.5%

How Berkeley County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$10,111 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

Berkeley 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; Berkeley 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 0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in South Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Berkeley 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 (this county) 229,861 $10,111 $2.3B
Anderson County 203,718 $7,499 $1.5B
Beaufort 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 Berkeley County's $10,111 - prioritizing South Carolina peers first.

Bamberg County

South Carolina

$10,257 per capita

$136.5M total

Georgetown County

South Carolina

$10,381 per capita

$658.2M total

Kershaw County

South Carolina

$9,668 per capita

$632.3M total

Edgefield County

South Carolina

$9,589 per capita

$246.0M total

Beaufort County

South Carolina

$10,683 per capita

$2.0B total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside South Carolina - 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 ($10,111 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($2.3B 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 →