PlainSpending

Howard County

$885.1M in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $10,580 per capita.

Indiana · FIPS 18067

In FY2025, Howard County in Indiana posted a dense absolute book of $885.1M ($10,580 per capita across 83,658 residents). That is 32.4% below the national average and 65.3% below the Indiana average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #7 of 92.

Total spending
$885.1M
Per capita
$10,580
vs. national avg
-32.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Howard County sits #572 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($885.1M).

Heavy absolute federal book

Howard County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 22%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$10,580
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
62.9% of tracked spending
Indiana rank
#7 of 92

How Howard County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Howard County vs. Indiana and the nation

Howard County$10,580Indiana avg$30,517National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 83,658 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Howard County

Top awarding agencies in Howard County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$526.5MDepartment of Energy$258.9MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$51.1M
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 $836.6M (94.5%) of Howard County's $885.1M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Howard 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 $526.5M 62.9%
Department of Energy $258.9M 30.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs $51.1M 6.1%

How Howard County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$10,580 Top 22% higher than 78% 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

Howard County Among Indiana's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Indiana by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Howard County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 16 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 0200,000400,000600,000800,0001,000,0001,200,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Indiana by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Howard County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Marion County 977,203 $147,172 $143.8B
Lake County 498,700 $6,356 $3.2B
Allen County 385,410 $7,136 $2.8B
Hamilton County 347,467 $5,591 $1.9B
St. Joseph County 272,912 $10,907 $3.0B
Elkhart County 207,047 $5,442 $1.1B
Tippecanoe County 186,251 $6,304 $1.2B
Vanderburgh County 180,136 $8,402 $1.5B
Hendricks County 174,788 $5,677 $992.2M
Porter County 173,215 $6,957 $1.2B
Johnson County 161,765 $6,184 $1.0B
Monroe County 139,718 $7,186 $1.0B
Madison County 130,129 $6,927 $901.4M
Clark County 121,093 $6,586 $797.5M
Laporte County 112,417 $7,316 $822.4M
Howard County (this county) 83,658 $10,580 $885.1M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Howard County's $10,580 - prioritizing Indiana peers first.

Fulton County

Indiana

$10,379 per capita

$212.6M total

St. Joseph County

Indiana

$10,907 per capita

$3.0B total

Bartholomew County

Indiana

$9,791 per capita

$804.9M total

Wayne County

Indiana

$11,574 per capita

$770.3M total

Franklin County

Indiana

$8,980 per capita

$204.6M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Indiana - 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 ($10,580 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($885.1M 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 →