PlainSpending

Los Alamos County

$5.4B in FY2025 federal spending, $277,874 per capita.

New Mexico · FIPS 35028

In FY2025, Los Alamos County in New Mexico received $5.4B in federal spending - $277,874 per capita for a population of 19,419. This is 1675.9% above the national average and 1319.4% above the New Mexico average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Energy. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #1 of 33 New Mexico counties.

Total spending
$5.4B
Per capita
$277,874
vs. national avg
+1675.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Los Alamos County posts top-1% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Department of Energy.

National per-capita rank
Top 1%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$277,874
Leading agency
Department of Energy
98.3% of tracked spending
New Mexico rank
#1 of 33

How Los Alamos County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Los Alamos County vs. New Mexico and the nation

Top 1% nationally
Los Alamos County$277,874New Mexico avg$19,577National avg$15,647

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 19,419 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Los Alamos County

Top awarding agencies in Los Alamos County, FY2025

Department of Energy$5.2BSocial Security Administration$84.7MDepartment of Veterans Affairs$8.0M

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Energy is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 0.7% 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 $5.3B (98.5%) of Los Alamos County's $5.4B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Los Alamos 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 Energy $5.2B 98.3%
Social Security Administration $84.7M 1.6%
Department of Veterans Affairs $8.0M 0.2%

How Los Alamos County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$277,874 Top 1% higher than 99% of 3,224 US counties

This county $0 $20K+ 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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Los Alamos County Among New Mexico's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in New Mexico by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Los Alamos 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. 0200,000400,000600,000800,000 $0$100,000$200,000$300,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 16 largest-population counties in New Mexico by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Los Alamos County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Bernalillo County 676,444 $17,868 $12.1B
Doña Ana County 219,561 $7,841 $1.7B
Santa Fe County 154,823 $16,576 $2.6B
Sandoval County 148,834 $8,082 $1.2B
San Juan County 121,661 $8,415 $1.0B
Valencia County 76,205 $7,359 $560.8M
Lea County 74,455 $4,263 $317.4M
Mckinley County 72,902 $10,373 $756.2M
Otero County 67,839 $9,605 $651.6M
Chaves County 65,157 $6,895 $449.3M
Eddy County 62,314 $6,052 $377.1M
Curry County 48,430 $7,399 $358.3M
Rio Arriba County 40,363 $7,760 $313.2M
Taos County 34,489 $11,622 $400.8M
Grant County 28,185 $11,639 $328.1M
Los Alamos County (this county) 19,419 $277,874 $5.4B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Los Alamos County's $277,874 - prioritizing New Mexico peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Los Alamos County, New Mexico receive?
Los Alamos County received $5.4B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $277,874 per capita for the county's population of 19,419.
How does Los Alamos County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Los Alamos County's per capita federal spending of $277,874 is 1675.9% above the national average of $15,647. Compared to the New Mexico average of $19,577, it is 1319.4% above.
What is the population of Los Alamos County, New Mexico?
Los Alamos County has a population of 19,419 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $277,874.
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.

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.