Dauphin County
$5.2B in FY2025 federal spending, $18,283 per capita.
Pennsylvania · FIPS 42043
In FY2025, Dauphin County in Pennsylvania received $5.2B in federal spending - $18,283 per capita for a population of 286,401. This is 16.8% above the national average and 15.6% below the Pennsylvania average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Education. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #4 of 67 Pennsylvania counties.
- Total spending
- $5.2B
- Per capita
- $18,283
- vs. national avg
- +16.8%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Dauphin County posts top-5% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Education, among several agencies.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 5%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $18,283
- Leading agency
- Department of Education
- 41.2% of tracked spending
- Pennsylvania rank
- #4 of 67
How Dauphin County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Dauphin County vs. Pennsylvania and the nation
Population: 286,401 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Dauphin County
Top awarding agencies in Dauphin County, FY2025
Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Education is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 0.5% 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 $4.4B (83.3%) of Dauphin County's $5.2B 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 - Dauphin 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 Education | $1.8B | 41.2% |
| Social Security Administration | $1.4B | 32.3% |
| Department of Commerce | $1.2B | 26.6% |
How Dauphin County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$18,283 Top 5% higher than 95% 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
Dauphin County Among Pennsylvania's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: Pennsylvania's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia County | 1,603,797 | $8,758 | $14.0B |
| Allegheny County | 1,250,578 | $20,569 | $25.7B |
| Montgomery County | 856,553 | $16,199 | $13.9B |
| Bucks County | 646,538 | $7,832 | $5.1B |
| Delaware County | 576,830 | $8,623 | $5.0B |
| Lancaster County | 552,984 | $6,731 | $3.7B |
| Chester County | 534,413 | $7,048 | $3.8B |
| York County | 456,438 | $13,388 | $6.1B |
| Berks County | 428,849 | $6,537 | $2.8B |
| Lehigh County | 374,557 | $6,652 | $2.5B |
| Westmoreland County | 354,663 | $8,569 | $3.0B |
| Luzerne County | 325,594 | $8,753 | $2.9B |
| Northampton County | 312,951 | $7,151 | $2.2B |
| Dauphin County (this county) | 286,401 | $18,283 | $5.2B |
| Erie County | 270,876 | $7,612 | $2.1B |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Dauphin County's $18,283 - prioritizing Pennsylvania peers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Dauphin County, Pennsylvania receive?
How does Dauphin County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania?
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.