PlainSpending

Lancaster County

$12,122 per resident in FY2025 ($132.4M total) - high intensity.

Virginia · FIPS 51103

In FY2025, Lancaster County carried a thin absolute book of $132.4M - $12,122 per capita for 10,919 residents. Intensity sits 22.5% below the national average (-51.1% vs Virginia). Leading tracked agency: Social Security Administration. Per-capita rank in-state: #23/133.

Total spending
$132.4M
Per capita
$12,122
vs. national avg
-22.5%
Fiscal year
FY2025

High per-resident intensity

Per-capita intensity is the standout: $12,122 puts Lancaster County at #440 of 3,224.

High per-resident intensity

Lancaster County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 14%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$12,122
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
90.9% of tracked spending
Virginia rank
#23 of 133

How Lancaster County Compares

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

Lancaster County$12,122Virginia avg$24,807National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 10,919 (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…$117.7MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$7.6MDepartment of Transportation$4.2M
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 $129.4M (97.8%) of Lancaster County's $132.4M in total tracked federal spending.

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 $117.7M 90.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs $7.6M 5.9%
Department of Transportation $4.2M 3.2%

How Lancaster County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$12,122 Top 14% higher than 86% 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 Virginia's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia 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 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$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia 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
Fairfax County 1,150,309 $41,553 $47.8B
Prince William County 482,204 $11,352 $5.5B
Virginia Beach City 459,470 $25,372 $11.7B
Loudoun County 420,959 $12,636 $5.3B
Chesterfield County 364,548 $7,050 $2.6B
Henrico County 334,389 $8,031 $2.7B
Chesapeake City 249,422 $10,154 $2.5B
Arlington County 238,643 $95,369 $22.8B
Norfolk City 238,005 $21,250 $5.1B
Richmond City 226,610 $12,465 $2.8B
Newport News City 186,247 $33,747 $6.3B
Alexandria City 159,467 $24,766 $3.9B
Stafford County 156,927 $11,248 $1.8B
Spotsylvania County 140,032 $227,738 $31.9B
Hampton City 137,148 $15,549 $2.1B
Lancaster County (this county) 10,919 $12,122 $132.4M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Lancaster County's $12,122 - prioritizing Virginia peers first.

Northampton County

Virginia

$12,126 per capita

$148.9M total

Wise County

Virginia

$11,907 per capita

$430.2M total

Staunton City

Virginia

$11,881 per capita

$305.9M total

Buchanan County

Virginia

$12,399 per capita

$252.4M total

Highland County

Virginia

$12,411 per capita

$27.7M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Virginia - 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 ($12,122 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($132.4M 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 →