Dare County
$353.0M in FY2025 federal spending, $9,562 per capita.
North Carolina · FIPS 37055
In FY2025, Dare County in North Carolina received $353.0M in federal spending - $9,562 per capita for a population of 36,915. This is 38.9% below the national average and 22.9% below the North Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #34 of 100 North Carolina counties.
- Total spending
- $353.0M
- Per capita
- $9,562
- vs. national avg
- -38.9%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Dare County posts above-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 31%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $9,562
- Leading agency
- Social Security Administration
- 88.3% of tracked spending
- North Carolina rank
- #34 of 100
How Dare County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Dare County vs. North Carolina and the nation
Population: 36,915 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Dare County
Top awarding agencies in Dare 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 $283.6M (80.3%) of Dare County's $353.0M 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 - Dare 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 | $250.4M | 88.3% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $19.1M | 6.7% |
| Department of the Interior | $14.1M | 5% |
How Dare County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$9,562 Top 31% higher than 69% 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
Dare 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 | 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 |
| Dare County (this county) | 36,915 | $9,562 | $353.0M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Dare County's $9,562 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.
Bladen County
North Carolina
$9,582 per capita
$283.7M total
Macon County
North Carolina
$9,414 per capita
$348.4M total
Hyde County
North Carolina
$9,349 per capita
$42.9M total
Perquimans County
North Carolina
$9,819 per capita
$127.7M total
Beaufort County
North Carolina
$9,849 per capita
$439.8M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Dare County, North Carolina receive?
How does Dare County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Dare 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.