PlainSpending

Cole County

$1.8B in FY2025 federal spending, $22,987 per capita.

Missouri · FIPS 29051

In FY2025, Cole County in Missouri received $1.8B in federal spending - $22,987 per capita for a population of 77,279. This is 46.9% above the national average and 50.9% above the Missouri average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Commerce. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #2 of 115 Missouri counties.

Total spending
$1.8B
Per capita
$22,987
vs. national avg
+46.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Cole County posts top-5% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Commerce.

National per-capita rank
Top 4%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$22,987
Leading agency
Department of Commerce
59.4% of tracked spending
Missouri rank
#2 of 115

How Cole County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Cole County vs. Missouri and the nation

Top 4% nationally
Cole County$22,987Missouri avg$15,232National avg$15,647

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 77,279 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Cole County

Top awarding agencies in Cole County, FY2025

Department of Commerce$1.7BDepartment of Education$795.9MSocial Security Administration$388.2M

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Commerce is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 0.8% of agency-tracked counties nationally -- often a sign of a single large federal facility rather than broad-based spending.

These 3 agencies together account for $2.9B (100%) of Cole County's $1.8B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Cole 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
Department of Commerce $1.7B 59.4%
Department of Education $795.9M 27.3%
Social Security Administration $388.2M 13.3%

How Cole County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$22,987 Top 4% higher than 96% of 3,224 US counties

This county $0 $20K+ 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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Cole County Among Missouri's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Missouri by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Cole 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. 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 16 largest-population counties in Missouri by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Cole County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
St. Louis County 1,004,125 $16,891 $17.0B
Jackson County 717,204 $11,265 $8.1B
St. Charles County 405,262 $6,465 $2.6B
St. Louis City 301,578 $68,810 $20.8B
Greene County 298,915 $6,701 $2.0B
Clay County 253,335 $6,058 $1.5B
Jefferson County 226,739 $6,590 $1.5B
Boone County 183,610 $6,290 $1.2B
Jasper County 122,761 $6,552 $804.4M
Cass County 107,824 $6,793 $732.4M
Platte County 106,718 $7,158 $763.8M
Franklin County 104,682 $7,263 $760.3M
Christian County 88,842 $6,297 $559.4M
Buchanan County 84,793 $6,505 $551.6M
Cape Girardeau County 81,710 $6,784 $554.3M
Cole County (this county) 77,279 $22,987 $1.8B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Cole County's $22,987 - prioritizing Missouri peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Cole County, Missouri receive?
Cole County received $1.8B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $22,987 per capita for the county's population of 77,279.
How does Cole County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Cole County's per capita federal spending of $22,987 is 46.9% above the national average of $15,647. Compared to the Missouri average of $15,232, it is 50.9% above.
What is the population of Cole County, Missouri?
Cole County has a population of 77,279 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $22,987.
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.

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.