PlainSpending

Howard County

$82.0M in FY2025 - a thin absolute book at $8,081 per capita.

Missouri · FIPS 29089

In FY2025, Howard County carried a thin absolute book of $82.0M - $8,081 per capita for 10,151 residents. Intensity sits 48.4% below the national average (-46.9% vs Missouri). Leading tracked agency: Social Security Administration. Per-capita rank in-state: #48/115.

Total spending
$82.0M
Per capita
$8,081
vs. national avg
-48.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Thin absolute federal book

Howard County is a light absolute book: #2525 of 3,224 with only $82.0M.

Thin absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 51%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$8,081
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
74.5% of tracked spending
Missouri rank
#48 of 115

How Howard County Compares

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

Howard County$8,081Missouri avg$15,232National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 10,151 (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…$53.1MDepartment of Education$13.1MDepartment of Agriculture$5.1M
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 $71.2M (86.8%) of Howard County's $82.0M 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
Social Security Administration $53.1M 74.5%
Department of Education $13.1M 18.4%
Department of Agriculture $5.1M 7.1%

How Howard County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$8,081 Around the middle higher than 49% 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 Missouri's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Missouri 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Missouri 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
St. Louis County 1,004,125 $16,891 $17.0B
Jackson County 717,204 $11,265 $8.1B
St. Charles County 405,262 $6,465 $2.6B
St. Louis City 301,578 $68,810 $20.8B
Greene County 298,915 $6,701 $2.0B
Clay County 253,335 $6,058 $1.5B
Jefferson County 226,739 $6,590 $1.5B
Boone County 183,610 $6,290 $1.2B
Jasper County 122,761 $6,552 $804.4M
Cass County 107,824 $6,793 $732.4M
Platte County 106,718 $7,158 $763.8M
Franklin County 104,682 $7,263 $760.3M
Christian County 88,842 $6,297 $559.4M
Buchanan County 84,793 $6,505 $551.6M
Cape Girardeau County 81,710 $6,784 $554.3M
Howard County (this county) 10,151 $8,081 $82.0M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Howard County's $8,081 - prioritizing Missouri peers first.

Clinton County

Missouri

$8,064 per capita

$170.8M total

Montgomery County

Missouri

$8,050 per capita

$91.1M total

Morgan County

Missouri

$7,977 per capita

$167.6M total

Gasconade County

Missouri

$8,194 per capita

$121.2M total

Harrison County

Missouri

$7,963 per capita

$65.0M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Missouri - 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 ($8,081 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($82.0M 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 →