Jefferson County
$122.1B in FY2025 federal spending, $155,985 per capita.
Kentucky · FIPS 21111
In FY2025, Jefferson County in Kentucky received $122.1B in federal spending - $155,985 per capita for a population of 782,969. This is 896.9% above the national average and 305.6% above the Kentucky average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Health and Human Services. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #1 of 120 Kentucky counties.
- Total spending
- $122.1B
- Per capita
- $155,985
- vs. national avg
- +896.9%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Jefferson County posts top-1% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Department of Health and Human Services.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 1%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $155,985
- Leading agency
- Department of Health and Human Services
- 89.1% of tracked spending
- Kentucky rank
- #1 of 120
How Jefferson County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Jefferson County vs. Kentucky and the nation
Population: 782,969 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Jefferson County
Top awarding agencies in Jefferson County, FY2025
Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Health and Human Services is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 3.4% 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 $113.0B (92.5%) of Jefferson County's $122.1B in total tracked federal spending.
All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Jefferson 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 Health and Human Services | $100.7B | 89.1% |
| Department of Defense | $8.7B | 7.7% |
| Social Security Administration | $3.6B | 3.2% |
How Jefferson County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$155,985 Top 1% higher than 99% of 3,224 US counties
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates
Jefferson County Among Kentucky's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: Kentucky's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County (this county) | 782,969 | $155,985 | $122.1B |
| Fayette County | 322,570 | $9,646 | $3.1B |
| Kenton County | 169,064 | $6,476 | $1.1B |
| Boone County | 135,968 | $6,469 | $879.5M |
| Warren County | 134,554 | $5,564 | $748.7M |
| Hardin County | 110,702 | $11,800 | $1.3B |
| Daviess County | 103,312 | $7,051 | $728.4M |
| Campbell County | 93,076 | $6,361 | $592.0M |
| Madison County | 92,701 | $10,599 | $982.6M |
| Bullitt County | 82,217 | $6,206 | $510.3M |
| Christian County | 72,748 | $8,491 | $617.7M |
| Mccracken County | 67,875 | $8,085 | $548.8M |
| Oldham County | 67,607 | $5,593 | $378.1M |
| Pulaski County | 65,034 | $8,056 | $523.9M |
| Laurel County | 62,613 | $7,885 | $493.7M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Jefferson County's $155,985 - prioritizing Kentucky peers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Jefferson County, Kentucky receive?
How does Jefferson County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Jefferson County, Kentucky?
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.
Verify with USASpending.gov → Verify population with U.S. Census Bureau →
Every figure on PlainSpending is computed directly from USASpending.gov award-transaction data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates every federal award with a place-of-performance in this county, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.