Boulder County
$3.2B in FY2025 federal spending, $9,749 per capita.
Colorado · FIPS 08013
In FY2025, Boulder County in Colorado received $3.2B in federal spending - $9,749 per capita for a population of 330,758. This is 37.7% below the national average and 19.8% below the Colorado average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #21 of 64 Colorado counties.
- Total spending
- $3.2B
- Per capita
- $9,749
- vs. national avg
- -37.7%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Boulder County posts above-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 28%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $9,749
- Leading agency
- Social Security Administration
- 68.5% of tracked spending
- Colorado rank
- #21 of 64
How Boulder County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Boulder County vs. Colorado and the nation
Population: 330,758 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Boulder County
Top awarding agencies in Boulder County, FY2025
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 $1.9B (59.9%) of Boulder County's $3.2B 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 - Boulder 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 | $1.3B | 68.5% |
| National Science Foundation | $358.9M | 18.6% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $249.1M | 12.9% |
How Boulder County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$9,749 Top 28% higher than 72% of 3,224 US counties
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
Boulder County Among Colorado's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: Colorado's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso County | 730,395 | $12,676 | $9.3B |
| Denver County | 715,522 | $10,593 | $7.6B |
| Arapahoe County | 655,070 | $6,663 | $4.4B |
| Jefferson County | 582,910 | $10,803 | $6.3B |
| Adams County | 519,572 | $9,121 | $4.7B |
| Larimer County | 359,066 | $8,602 | $3.1B |
| Douglas County | 357,978 | $14,587 | $5.2B |
| Boulder County (this county) | 330,758 | $9,749 | $3.2B |
| Weld County | 328,981 | $5,741 | $1.9B |
| Pueblo County | 168,162 | $9,023 | $1.5B |
| Mesa County | 155,703 | $8,336 | $1.3B |
| Broomfield County | 74,112 | $5,512 | $408.5M |
| Garfield County | 61,685 | $5,051 | $311.6M |
| Eagle County | 55,731 | $4,358 | $242.9M |
| La Plata County | 55,638 | $8,380 | $466.2M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Boulder County's $9,749 - prioritizing Colorado peers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Boulder County, Colorado receive?
How does Boulder County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Boulder County, Colorado?
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.
Verify with USASpending.gov → Verify population with U.S. Census Bureau →
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.