PlainSpending

Berkshire County

$1.5B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $11,909 per capita.

Massachusetts · FIPS 25003

In FY2025, Berkshire County in Massachusetts posted a dense absolute book of $1.5B ($11,909 per capita across 129,026 residents). That is 23.9% below the national average and 18.9% below the Massachusetts average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #5 of 14.

Total spending
$1.5B
Per capita
$11,909
vs. national avg
-23.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Berkshire County sits #380 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($1.5B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 15%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$11,909
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
63% of tracked spending
Massachusetts rank
#5 of 14

How Berkshire County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Berkshire County vs. Massachusetts and the nation

Berkshire County$11,909Massachusetts avg$14,689National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 129,026 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Berkshire County

Top awarding agencies in Berkshire County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$872.1MDepartment of Defense$351.7MDepartment of the Treasury$159.6M
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 $1.4B (90%) of Berkshire County's $1.5B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Berkshire 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 $872.1M 63%
Department of Defense $351.7M 25.4%
Department of the Treasury $159.6M 11.5%

How Berkshire County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$11,909 Top 15% higher than 85% 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

Berkshire County Among Massachusetts's Largest Counties

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

The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Berkshire County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 14 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Berkshire County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Middlesex County 1,632,002 $15,809 $25.8B
Worcester County 862,111 $6,968 $6.0B
Essex County 809,829 $13,851 $11.2B
Suffolk County 797,936 $15,681 $12.5B
Norfolk County 725,981 $7,972 $5.8B
Bristol County 579,200 $6,527 $3.8B
Plymouth County 530,819 $8,056 $4.3B
Hampden County 465,825 $7,474 $3.5B
Barnstable County 228,996 $12,300 $2.8B
Hampshire County 162,308 $8,156 $1.3B
Berkshire County (this county) 129,026 $11,909 $1.5B
Franklin County 71,029 $7,723 $548.6M
Dukes County 20,600 $8,754 $180.3M
Nantucket County 14,255 $4,223 $60.2M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Berkshire County's $11,909 - prioritizing Massachusetts peers first.

Barnstable County

Massachusetts

$12,300 per capita

$2.8B total

Essex County

Massachusetts

$13,851 per capita

$11.2B total

Dukes County

Massachusetts

$8,754 per capita

$180.3M total

Hampshire County

Massachusetts

$8,156 per capita

$1.3B total

Suffolk County

Massachusetts

$15,681 per capita

$12.5B total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Massachusetts - 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 ($11,909 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($1.5B 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 →