PlainSpending

Durham County

$6.1B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $18,868 per capita.

North Carolina · FIPS 37063

In FY2025, Durham County in North Carolina posted a dense absolute book of $6.1B ($18,868 per capita across 324,833 residents). That is 20.6% above the national average and 52.2% above the North Carolina average. Department of Health and Human Services leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #1 of 100.

Total spending
$6.1B
Per capita
$18,868
vs. national avg
+20.6%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Durham County sits #105 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($6.1B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Durham County posts top-5% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Health and Human Services.

National per-capita rank
Top 5%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$18,868
Leading agency
Department of Health and Human Services
65.2% of tracked spending
North Carolina rank
#1 of 100

How Durham County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Durham County vs. North Carolina and the nation

Durham County$18,868North Carolina avg$12,400National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 324,833 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Durham County

Top awarding agencies in Durham County, FY2025

Department of Health and Hum…$3.2BSocial Security Administrati…$1.4BAgency for International Dev…$304.4M
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Health and Human Services is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 1.1% 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 $4.9B (79.9%) of Durham County's $6.1B 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 - Durham 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 Health and Human Services $3.2B 65.2%
Social Security Administration $1.4B 28.5%
Agency for International Development $304.4M 6.2%

How Durham County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$18,868 Top 5% higher than 95% 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

Durham County Among North Carolina's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Durham County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 15 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 15 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Durham 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 (this 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

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Durham County's $18,868 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.

Mitchell County

North Carolina

$17,227 per capita

$256.7M total

Mcdowell County

North Carolina

$16,638 per capita

$741.7M total

Polk County

North Carolina

$16,122 per capita

$311.6M total

Brunswick County

North Carolina

$15,745 per capita

$2.2B total

Ashe County

North Carolina

$15,398 per capita

$409.2M 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 ($18,868 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($6.1B 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 →