PlainSpending

Essex County

$11.2B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $13,851 per capita.

Massachusetts · FIPS 25009

In FY2025, Essex County in Massachusetts posted a dense absolute book of $11.2B ($13,851 per capita across 809,829 residents). That is 11.5% below the national average and 5.7% below the Massachusetts average. Department of Defense leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #3 of 14.

Total spending
$11.2B
Per capita
$13,851
vs. national avg
-11.5%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Essex County sits #57 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($11.2B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Essex County posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Defense.

National per-capita rank
Top 10%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$13,851
Leading agency
Department of Defense
57.6% of tracked spending
Massachusetts rank
#3 of 14

How Essex County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Essex County vs. Massachusetts and the nation

Essex County$13,851Massachusetts avg$14,689National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 809,829 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Essex County

Top awarding agencies in Essex County, FY2025

Department of Defense$6.0BSocial Security Administrati…$4.1BDepartment of Veterans Affai…$280.6M
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 $10.4B (92.3%) of Essex County's $11.2B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Essex 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 $6.0B 57.6%
Social Security Administration $4.1B 39.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs $280.6M 2.7%

How Essex County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$13,851 Top 10% higher than 90% 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

Essex County Among Massachusetts's Largest Counties

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

The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Essex County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 14 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Essex County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Middlesex County 1,632,002 $15,809 $25.8B
Worcester County 862,111 $6,968 $6.0B
Essex County (this county) 809,829 $13,851 $11.2B
Suffolk County 797,936 $15,681 $12.5B
Norfolk County 725,981 $7,972 $5.8B
Bristol County 579,200 $6,527 $3.8B
Plymouth County 530,819 $8,056 $4.3B
Hampden County 465,825 $7,474 $3.5B
Barnstable County 228,996 $12,300 $2.8B
Hampshire County 162,308 $8,156 $1.3B
Berkshire County 129,026 $11,909 $1.5B
Franklin County 71,029 $7,723 $548.6M
Dukes County 20,600 $8,754 $180.3M
Nantucket County 14,255 $4,223 $60.2M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Essex County's $13,851 - prioritizing Massachusetts peers first.

Barnstable County

Massachusetts

$12,300 per capita

$2.8B total

Suffolk County

Massachusetts

$15,681 per capita

$12.5B total

Berkshire County

Massachusetts

$11,909 per capita

$1.5B total

Middlesex County

Massachusetts

$15,809 per capita

$25.8B total

Dukes County

Massachusetts

$8,754 per capita

$180.3M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Massachusetts - 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 ($13,851 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($11.2B 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 →