Durham County
$6.1B in FY2025 federal spending, $18,868 per capita.
North Carolina · FIPS 37063
In FY2025, Durham County in North Carolina received $6.1B in federal spending - $18,868 per capita for a population of 324,833. This is 20.6% above the national average and 52.2% above the North Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Health and Human Services. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #1 of 100 North Carolina counties.
- Total spending
- $6.1B
- Per capita
- $18,868
- vs. national avg
- +20.6%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
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
- 65.8% 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
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
Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Health and Human Services is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 3.4% 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 $4.8B (78%) 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 | $3.1B | 65.8% |
| Social Security Administration | $1.3B | 26.9% |
| General Services Administration | $352.8M | 7.4% |
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
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
Durham 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 (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 |
Federal Spending Guides
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
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Durham County, North Carolina receive?
How does Durham County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Durham 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.