PlainSpending

Mercer County

$974.7M in FY2025 federal spending, $8,809 per capita.

Pennsylvania · FIPS 42085

In FY2025, Mercer County in Pennsylvania received $974.7M in federal spending - $8,809 per capita for a population of 110,652. This is 43.7% below the national average and 59.3% below the Pennsylvania average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #14 of 67 Pennsylvania counties.

Total spending
$974.7M
Per capita
$8,809
vs. national avg
-43.7%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Mercer County posts above-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 39%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$8,809
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
89.5% of tracked spending
Pennsylvania rank
#14 of 67

How Mercer County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Mercer County vs. Pennsylvania and the nation

Top 39% nationally
Mercer County$8,809Pennsylvania avg$21,653National avg$15,647

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

Population: 110,652 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Mercer County

Top awarding agencies in Mercer County, FY2025

Social Security Administration$677.4MDepartment of Veterans Affairs$48.8MDepartment of Transportation$30.4M

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

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Social Security Administration is the most common leading agency nationally, topping 86% of agency-tracked counties.

These 3 agencies together account for $756.7M (77.6%) of Mercer County's $974.7M 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 - Mercer 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 $677.4M 89.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs $48.8M 6.5%
Department of Transportation $30.4M 4%

How Mercer County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$8,809 Top 39% higher than 61% 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

Mercer County Among Pennsylvania's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Pennsylvania by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Mercer 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. 0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 16 largest-population counties in Pennsylvania by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Mercer County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Philadelphia County 1,603,797 $8,758 $14.0B
Allegheny County 1,250,578 $20,569 $25.7B
Montgomery County 856,553 $16,199 $13.9B
Bucks County 646,538 $7,832 $5.1B
Delaware County 576,830 $8,623 $5.0B
Lancaster County 552,984 $6,731 $3.7B
Chester County 534,413 $7,048 $3.8B
York County 456,438 $13,388 $6.1B
Berks County 428,849 $6,537 $2.8B
Lehigh County 374,557 $6,652 $2.5B
Westmoreland County 354,663 $8,569 $3.0B
Luzerne County 325,594 $8,753 $2.9B
Northampton County 312,951 $7,151 $2.2B
Dauphin County 286,401 $18,283 $5.2B
Erie County 270,876 $7,612 $2.1B
Mercer County (this county) 110,652 $8,809 $974.7M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Mercer County's $8,809 - prioritizing Pennsylvania peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Mercer County, Pennsylvania receive?
Mercer County received $974.7M in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $8,809 per capita for the county's population of 110,652.
How does Mercer County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Mercer County's per capita federal spending of $8,809 is 43.7% below the national average of $15,647. Compared to the Pennsylvania average of $21,653, it is 59.3% below.
What is the population of Mercer County, Pennsylvania?
Mercer County has a population of 110,652 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $8,809.
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.