PlainSpending

Bristol County

$396.6M in FY2025 federal spending, $7,807 per capita.

Rhode Island · FIPS 44001

In FY2025, Bristol County in Rhode Island received $396.6M in federal spending - $7,807 per capita for a population of 50,793. This is 50.1% below the national average and 43.4% below the Rhode Island average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #5 of 5 Rhode Island counties.

Total spending
$396.6M
Per capita
$7,807
vs. national avg
-50.1%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Mid-ladder absolute book

Bristol County is mid-pack on absolute obligations (#1030 of 3,224, $396.6M).

Mid-ladder absolute book

Bristol County posts below-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 57%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$7,807
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
86.4% of tracked spending
Rhode Island rank
#5 of 5

How Bristol County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Bristol County vs. Rhode Island and the nation

Bristol County$7,807Rhode Island avg$13,799National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 50,793 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Bristol County

Top awarding agencies in Bristol County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$320.1MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$37.3MDepartment of Transportation$13.1M
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 $370.4M (93.4%) of Bristol County's $396.6M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Bristol 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 $320.1M 86.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs $37.3M 10.1%
Department of Transportation $13.1M 3.5%

How Bristol County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$7,807 Around the middle higher than 43% 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

Bristol County Among Rhode Island's Largest Counties

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

The 5 largest-population counties in Rhode Island by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Bristol County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 5 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 0200,000400,000600,000800,000 $6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000$14,000$16,000$18,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Providence CountyKent CountyWashington CountyNewport CountyBristol County
The 5 largest-population counties in Rhode Island by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Bristol County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Providence County 660,741 $9,494 $6.3B
Kent County 170,363 $10,188 $1.7B
Washington County 129,839 $10,139 $1.3B
Newport County 85,643 $16,597 $1.4B
Bristol County (this county) 50,793 $7,807 $396.6M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Bristol County's $7,807 - prioritizing Rhode Island peers first.

Providence County

Rhode Island

$9,494 per capita

$6.3B total

Washington County

Rhode Island

$10,139 per capita

$1.3B total

Kent County

Rhode Island

$10,188 per capita

$1.7B total

Newport County

Rhode Island

$16,597 per capita

$1.4B total

Somervell County

Texas

$7,808 per capita

$71.9M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Rhode Island - 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 ($7,807 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($396.6M 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 →