PlainSpending

Gaston County

$1.6B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $6,974 per capita.

North Carolina · FIPS 37071

In FY2025, Gaston County in North Carolina posted a dense absolute book of $1.6B ($6,974 per capita across 227,943 residents). That is 55.4% below the national average and 43.8% below the North Carolina average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #84 of 100.

Total spending
$1.6B
Per capita
$6,974
vs. national avg
-55.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Gaston County sits #369 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($1.6B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Gaston County posts below-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 76%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$6,974
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
82.8% of tracked spending
North Carolina rank
#84 of 100

How Gaston County Compares

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

Gaston County$6,974North Carolina avg$12,400National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 227,943 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Gaston County

Top awarding agencies in Gaston County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$1.2BDepartment of Veterans Affai…$160.3MDepartment of Transportation$95.0M
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 $1.5B (93.2%) of Gaston County's $1.6B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Gaston 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 $1.2B 82.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs $160.3M 10.8%
Department of Transportation $95.0M 6.4%

How Gaston County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$6,974 Among the lowest higher than 24% 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

Gaston 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; Gaston 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; Gaston 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 324,833 $18,868 $6.1B
Buncombe County 269,452 $13,420 $3.6B
Union County 238,267 $5,561 $1.3B
Gaston County (this 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 Gaston County's $6,974 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.

Alexander County

North Carolina

$6,969 per capita

$254.0M total

Sampson County

North Carolina

$6,980 per capita

$412.0M total

Pitt County

North Carolina

$6,895 per capita

$1.2B total

Surry County

North Carolina

$6,872 per capita

$490.4M total

Tyrrell County

North Carolina

$7,089 per capita

$23.0M 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 ($6,974 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($1.6B 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 →