PlainSpending

Lancaster County

$3.1B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $9,515 per capita.

Nebraska · FIPS 31109

In FY2025, Lancaster County in Nebraska posted a dense absolute book of $3.1B ($9,515 per capita across 322,608 residents). That is 39.2% below the national average and 32.7% below the Nebraska average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #50 of 93.

Total spending
$3.1B
Per capita
$9,515
vs. national avg
-39.2%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Lancaster County sits #226 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($3.1B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 31%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$9,515
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
61% of tracked spending
Nebraska rank
#50 of 93

How Lancaster County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Lancaster County vs. Nebraska and the nation

Lancaster County$9,515Nebraska avg$14,140National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 322,608 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Lancaster County

Top awarding agencies in Lancaster County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$1.4BDepartment of Education$505.8MDepartment of Commerce$408.8M
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 $2.3B (76.4%) of Lancaster County's $3.1B 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 - Lancaster 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 $1.4B 61%
Department of Education $505.8M 21.6%
Department of Commerce $408.8M 17.4%

How Lancaster County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$9,515 Higher than most higher than 69% 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

Lancaster County Among Nebraska's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Nebraska by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Lancaster 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 0200,000400,000600,000800,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Nebraska by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Lancaster County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Douglas County 584,526 $15,987 $9.3B
Lancaster County (this county) 322,608 $9,515 $3.1B
Sarpy County 190,604 $8,801 $1.7B
Hall County 62,895 $5,919 $372.3M
Buffalo County 50,084 $7,023 $351.7M
Dodge County 37,167 $7,328 $272.4M
Scotts Bluff County 36,084 $8,232 $297.0M
Madison County 35,585 $11,743 $417.9M
Lincoln County 34,676 $9,362 $324.6M
Platte County 34,296 $12,089 $414.6M
Adams County 31,205 $7,627 $238.0M
Cass County 26,598 $7,855 $208.9M
Dawson County 24,111 $6,116 $147.5M
Saunders County 22,278 $7,207 $160.6M
Gage County 21,704 $9,312 $202.1M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Lancaster County's $9,515 - prioritizing Nebraska peers first.

Valley County

Nebraska

$9,505 per capita

$38.6M total

Brown County

Nebraska

$9,606 per capita

$27.9M total

Dixon County

Nebraska

$9,414 per capita

$52.8M total

Phelps County

Nebraska

$9,386 per capita

$84.2M total

Hamilton County

Nebraska

$9,381 per capita

$88.5M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Nebraska - 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 ($9,515 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($3.1B 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 →