PlainSpending

Dawson County

$11,127 per resident in FY2025 ($99.5M total) - high intensity.

Montana · FIPS 30021

In FY2025, Dawson County carried a thin absolute book of $99.5M - $11,127 per capita for 8,940 residents. Intensity sits 28.9% below the national average (-21.3% vs Montana). Leading tracked agency: Social Security Administration. Per-capita rank in-state: #30/56.

Total spending
$99.5M
Per capita
$11,127
vs. national avg
-28.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

High per-resident intensity

Per-capita intensity is the standout: $11,127 puts Dawson County at #592 of 3,224.

High per-resident intensity

Dawson County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 19%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$11,127
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
57.3% of tracked spending
Montana rank
#30 of 56

How Dawson County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Dawson County vs. Montana and the nation

Dawson County$11,127Montana avg$14,143National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 8,940 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Dawson County

Top awarding agencies in Dawson County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$43.4MDepartment of Agriculture$19.4MDepartment of Transportation$12.9M
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 $75.7M (76.1%) of Dawson County's $99.5M 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 - Dawson 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 $43.4M 57.3%
Department of Agriculture $19.4M 25.7%
Department of Transportation $12.9M 17%

How Dawson County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$11,127 Top 19% higher than 81% 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

Dawson County Among Montana's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Montana by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Dawson 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 050,000100,000150,000200,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Montana by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Dawson County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Yellowstone County 164,731 $7,203 $1.2B
Gallatin County 118,960 $7,050 $838.7M
Missoula County 117,922 $7,636 $900.5M
Flathead County 104,357 $9,159 $955.8M
Cascade County 84,414 $12,074 $1.0B
Lewis and Clark County 70,973 $24,304 $1.7B
Ravalli County 44,174 $11,242 $496.6M
Silver Bow County 35,133 $10,448 $367.1M
Lake County 31,134 $16,655 $518.5M
Lincoln County 19,677 $12,584 $247.6M
Park County 17,191 $9,669 $166.2M
Hill County 16,309 $16,115 $262.8M
Glacier County 13,778 $12,084 $166.5M
Big Horn County 13,124 $12,537 $164.5M
Sanders County 12,400 $12,143 $150.6M
Dawson County (this county) 8,940 $11,127 $99.5M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Dawson County's $11,127 - prioritizing Montana peers first.

Ravalli County

Montana

$11,242 per capita

$496.6M total

Meagher County

Montana

$11,489 per capita

$22.1M total

Stillwater County

Montana

$11,565 per capita

$103.7M total

Phillips County

Montana

$11,578 per capita

$48.8M total

Beaverhead County

Montana

$11,608 per capita

$108.8M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Montana - 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 ($11,127 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($99.5M 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 →