Buncombe County
$3.6B in FY2025 federal spending, $13,420 per capita.
North Carolina · FIPS 37021
In FY2025, Buncombe County in North Carolina received $3.6B in federal spending - $13,420 per capita for a population of 269,452. This is 14.2% below the national average and 8.2% above the North Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #11 of 100 North Carolina counties.
- Total spending
- $3.6B
- Per capita
- $13,420
- vs. national avg
- -14.2%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Buncombe County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 11%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $13,420
- Leading agency
- Social Security Administration
- 84.6% of tracked spending
- North Carolina rank
- #11 of 100
How Buncombe County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Buncombe County vs. North Carolina and the nation
Population: 269,452 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Buncombe County
Top awarding agencies in Buncombe 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 $1.8B (49.2%) of Buncombe County's $3.6B 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 - Buncombe 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 | $1.5B | 84.6% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $180.8M | 10.2% |
| Department of Transportation | $92.9M | 5.2% |
How Buncombe County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$13,420 Top 11% higher than 89% 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
Buncombe County Among North Carolina's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: North Carolina's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | 1,129,410 | $11,428 | $12.9B |
| Mecklenburg County | 1,115,482 | $5,240 | $5.8B |
| Guilford County | 541,299 | $7,579 | $4.1B |
| Forsyth County | 382,590 | $7,451 | $2.9B |
| Cumberland County | 334,728 | $12,871 | $4.3B |
| Durham County | 324,833 | $18,868 | $6.1B |
| Buncombe County (this county) | 269,452 | $13,420 | $3.6B |
| Union County | 238,267 | $5,561 | $1.3B |
| Gaston County | 227,943 | $6,974 | $1.6B |
| Cabarrus County | 225,804 | $5,453 | $1.2B |
| New Hanover County | 225,702 | $8,720 | $2.0B |
| Johnston County | 215,999 | $6,735 | $1.5B |
| Onslow County | 204,576 | $11,691 | $2.4B |
| Iredell County | 186,693 | $7,826 | $1.5B |
| Alamance County | 171,415 | $6,612 | $1.1B |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Buncombe County's $13,420 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.
Transylvania County
North Carolina
$13,438 per capita
$443.3M total
Jones County
North Carolina
$13,553 per capita
$124.3M total
Haywood County
North Carolina
$13,016 per capita
$808.1M total
Cumberland County
North Carolina
$12,871 per capita
$4.3B total
Swain County
North Carolina
$12,867 per capita
$181.6M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Buncombe County, North Carolina receive?
How does Buncombe County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Buncombe County, North Carolina?
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.