PlainSpending

Dare County

$9,562 per resident in FY2025 ($353.0M total) - high intensity.

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

High per-resident intensity

Per-capita intensity is the standout: $9,562 puts Dare County at #968 of 3,224.

High per-resident intensity

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
82.9% 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

Dare County$9,562North Carolina avg$12,400National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

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

Social Security Administrati…$272.4MDepartment of Defense$32.6MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$23.7M
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 $328.7M (93.1%) of Dare County's $353.0M in total tracked federal spending.

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 $272.4M 82.9%
Department of Defense $32.6M 9.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs $23.7M 7.2%

How Dare County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$9,562 Higher than most higher than 69% 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

Dare 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; Dare 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; Dare 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
Dare County (this county) 36,915 $9,562 $353.0M

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

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 ($9,562 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($353.0M 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 →