PlainSpending

El Paso County

$9.3B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $12,676 per capita.

Colorado · FIPS 08041

In FY2025, El Paso County in Colorado posted a dense absolute book of $9.3B ($12,676 per capita across 730,395 residents). That is 19.0% below the national average and 4.3% above the Colorado average. Department of Defense leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #8 of 64.

Total spending
$9.3B
Per capita
$12,676
vs. national avg
-19.0%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

El Paso County sits #73 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($9.3B).

Heavy absolute federal book

El Paso County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Defense, among several agencies.

National per-capita rank
Top 13%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$12,676
Leading agency
Department of Defense
38% of tracked spending
Colorado rank
#8 of 64

How El Paso County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: El Paso County vs. Colorado and the nation

El Paso County$12,676Colorado avg$12,155National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 730,395 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in El Paso County

Top awarding agencies in El Paso County, FY2025

Department of Defense$3.1BSocial Security Administrati…$2.9BDepartment of Veterans Affai…$2.2B
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Defense is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 2.6% 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 $8.3B (89.4%) of El Paso County's $9.3B 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 - El Paso 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 Defense $3.1B 38%
Social Security Administration $2.9B 35.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs $2.2B 26.7%

How El Paso County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$12,676 Top 13% higher than 87% 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

El Paso County Among Colorado's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Colorado by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; El Paso 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 0200,000400,000600,000800,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Colorado by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; El Paso County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
El Paso County (this county) 730,395 $12,676 $9.3B
Denver County 715,522 $10,593 $7.6B
Arapahoe County 655,070 $6,663 $4.4B
Jefferson County 582,910 $10,803 $6.3B
Adams County 519,572 $9,121 $4.7B
Larimer County 359,066 $8,602 $3.1B
Douglas County 357,978 $14,587 $5.2B
Boulder County 330,758 $9,749 $3.2B
Weld County 328,981 $5,741 $1.9B
Pueblo County 168,162 $9,023 $1.5B
Mesa County 155,703 $8,336 $1.3B
Broomfield County 74,112 $5,512 $408.5M
Garfield County 61,685 $5,051 $311.6M
Eagle County 55,731 $4,358 $242.9M
La Plata County 55,638 $8,380 $466.2M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to El Paso County's $12,676 - prioritizing Colorado peers first.

Ouray County

Colorado

$12,376 per capita

$60.3M total

Cheyenne County

Colorado

$13,008 per capita

$22.7M total

Baca County

Colorado

$12,169 per capita

$42.7M total

Grand County

Colorado

$12,110 per capita

$190.3M total

Huerfano County

Colorado

$11,650 per capita

$79.5M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Colorado - 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 ($12,676 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($9.3B 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 →