Meade County
$361.1M in FY2025 federal spending, $12,098 per capita.
South Dakota · FIPS 46093
In FY2025, Meade County in South Dakota received $361.1M in federal spending - $12,098 per capita for a population of 29,852. This is 22.7% below the national average and 6.5% below the South Dakota average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Defense. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #34 of 66 South Dakota counties.
- Total spending
- $361.1M
- Per capita
- $12,098
- vs. national avg
- -22.7%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Meade County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Defense.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 14%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $12,098
- Leading agency
- Department of Defense
- 77.2% of tracked spending
- South Dakota rank
- #34 of 66
How Meade County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Meade County vs. South Dakota and the nation
Population: 29,852 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Meade County
Top awarding agencies in Meade County, FY2025
Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Defense is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 6.4% 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 $787.9M (100%) of Meade County's $361.1M in total tracked federal spending.
All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Meade 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 Defense | $608.3M | 77.2% |
| Social Security Administration | $139.5M | 17.7% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $40.2M | 5.1% |
How Meade County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$12,098 Top 14% higher than 86% 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
Meade County Among South Dakota's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: South Dakota's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County | 197,214 | $8,232 | $1.6B |
| Pennington County | 109,222 | $11,308 | $1.2B |
| Lincoln County | 65,161 | $6,414 | $418.0M |
| Brown County | 38,301 | $7,602 | $291.2M |
| Brookings County | 34,375 | $6,805 | $233.9M |
| Meade County (this county) | 29,852 | $12,098 | $361.1M |
| Codington County | 28,325 | $7,324 | $207.5M |
| Lawrence County | 25,768 | $11,168 | $287.8M |
| Yankton County | 23,310 | $8,007 | $186.6M |
| Davison County | 19,956 | $6,820 | $136.1M |
| Beadle County | 19,149 | $7,558 | $144.7M |
| Hughes County | 17,765 | $22,396 | $397.9M |
| Union County | 16,811 | $14,158 | $238.0M |
| Clay County | 14,967 | $7,186 | $107.6M |
| Oglala Lakota County | 13,672 | $27,398 | $374.6M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Meade County's $12,098 - prioritizing South Dakota peers first.
Mcpherson County
South Dakota
$12,117 per capita
$29.2M total
Douglas County
South Dakota
$12,168 per capita
$34.5M total
Campbell County
South Dakota
$12,198 per capita
$16.8M total
Clark County
South Dakota
$11,915 per capita
$45.7M total
Custer County
South Dakota
$12,485 per capita
$103.8M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Meade County, South Dakota receive?
How does Meade County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Meade County, South Dakota?
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.