PlainSpending

Howard County

$8.6B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $25,853 per capita.

Maryland · FIPS 24027

In FY2025, Howard County in Maryland posted a dense absolute book of $8.6B ($25,853 per capita across 332,317 residents). That is 65.2% above the national average and 51.2% above the Maryland average. Department of Defense leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #2 of 24.

Total spending
$8.6B
Per capita
$25,853
vs. national avg
+65.2%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Howard County sits #77 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($8.6B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Howard County posts top-5% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Defense, among several agencies.

National per-capita rank
Top 3%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$25,853
Leading agency
Department of Defense
44.5% of tracked spending
Maryland rank
#2 of 24

How Howard County Compares

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

Howard County$25,853Maryland avg$17,102National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 332,317 (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

Department of Defense$3.0BDepartment of Health and Hum…$2.3BSocial Security Administrati…$1.4B
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 $6.7B (77.6%) of Howard County's $8.6B 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 - 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
Department of Defense $3.0B 44.5%
Department of Health and Human Services $2.3B 34.5%
Social Security Administration $1.4B 21%

How Howard County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$25,853 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 Maryland's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Maryland 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 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$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Maryland 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
Montgomery County 1,062,061 $16,975 $18.0B
Prince George'S County 967,201 $10,518 $10.2B
Baltimore County 854,535 $10,159 $8.7B
Anne Arundel County 588,261 $14,340 $8.4B
Baltimore City 585,708 $18,533 $10.9B
Howard County (this county) 332,317 $25,853 $8.6B
Frederick County 271,717 $11,446 $3.1B
Harford County 260,924 $15,632 $4.1B
Carroll County 172,891 $6,719 $1.2B
Charles County 166,617 $8,458 $1.4B
Washington County 154,705 $7,289 $1.1B
St. Mary'S County 113,777 $47,173 $5.4B
Cecil County 103,725 $7,546 $782.7M
Wicomico County 103,588 $6,655 $689.4M
Calvert County 92,783 $7,474 $693.5M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Howard County's $25,853 - prioritizing Maryland peers first.

Baltimore City

Maryland

$18,533 per capita

$10.9B total

Montgomery County

Maryland

$16,975 per capita

$18.0B total

Harford County

Maryland

$15,632 per capita

$4.1B total

Anne Arundel County

Maryland

$14,340 per capita

$8.4B total

Talbot County

Maryland

$12,787 per capita

$479.9M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Maryland - 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 ($25,853 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($8.6B 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 →