PlainSpending

Chatham County

$649.7M in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $8,517 per capita.

North Carolina · FIPS 37037

In FY2025, Chatham County in North Carolina posted a dense absolute book of $649.7M ($8,517 per capita across 76,285 residents). That is 45.6% below the national average and 31.3% below the North Carolina average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #49 of 100.

Total spending
$649.7M
Per capita
$8,517
vs. national avg
-45.6%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Chatham County sits #737 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($649.7M).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 43%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$8,517
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
94.5% of tracked spending
North Carolina rank
#49 of 100

How Chatham County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Chatham County vs. North Carolina and the nation

Chatham County$8,517North Carolina avg$12,400National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 76,285 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Chatham County

Top awarding agencies in Chatham County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$602.3MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$29.9MDepartment of Agriculture$4.9M
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 $637.1M (98.1%) of Chatham County's $649.7M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Chatham 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 $602.3M 94.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs $29.9M 4.7%
Department of Agriculture $4.9M 0.8%

How Chatham County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$8,517 Higher than most higher than 57% 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

Chatham County Among North Carolina's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Chatham County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 16 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Chatham County is highlighted.
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 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
Chatham County (this county) 76,285 $8,517 $649.7M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Chatham County's $8,517 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.

Camden County

North Carolina

$8,516 per capita

$88.2M total

Avery County

North Carolina

$8,569 per capita

$152.6M total

Vance County

North Carolina

$8,588 per capita

$365.7M total

Lee County

North Carolina

$8,411 per capita

$532.3M total

Lenoir County

North Carolina

$8,407 per capita

$463.4M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside North 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 ($8,517 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($649.7M 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 →