PlainSpending

Merrimack County

$2.0B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $13,078 per capita.

New Hampshire · FIPS 33013

In FY2025, Merrimack County in New Hampshire posted a dense absolute book of $2.0B ($13,078 per capita across 153,808 residents). That is 16.4% below the national average and 5.8% above the New Hampshire average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #1 of 10.

Total spending
$2.0B
Per capita
$13,078
vs. national avg
-16.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Merrimack County sits #309 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($2.0B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Merrimack County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 11%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$13,078
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
60% of tracked spending
New Hampshire rank
#1 of 10

How Merrimack County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Merrimack County vs. New Hampshire and the nation

Merrimack County$13,078New Hampshire avg$12,356National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 153,808 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Merrimack County

Top awarding agencies in Merrimack County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$990.1MDepartment of Education$568.3MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$90.5M
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 $1.6B (82%) of Merrimack County's $2.0B 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 - Merrimack 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 $990.1M 60%
Department of Education $568.3M 34.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs $90.5M 5.5%

How Merrimack County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$13,078 Top 11% higher than 89% 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

Merrimack County Among New Hampshire's Largest Counties

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

The 10 largest-population counties in New Hampshire by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Merrimack County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 10 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 0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000 $6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000$14,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Hillsborough CountyRockingham CountyMerrimack CountyStrafford CountyGrafton CountyCheshire CountyBelknap CountyCarroll CountySullivan CountyCoos County
The 10 largest-population counties in New Hampshire by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Merrimack County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Hillsborough County 422,937 $10,427 $4.4B
Rockingham County 314,176 $10,988 $3.5B
Merrimack County (this county) 153,808 $13,078 $2.0B
Strafford County 130,889 $7,308 $956.6M
Grafton County 91,118 $11,638 $1.1B
Cheshire County 76,458 $8,500 $649.9M
Belknap County 63,705 $9,768 $622.3M
Carroll County 50,107 $9,565 $479.3M
Sullivan County 43,063 $8,988 $387.1M
Coos County 31,268 $9,950 $311.1M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Merrimack County's $13,078 - prioritizing New Hampshire peers first.

Grafton County

New Hampshire

$11,638 per capita

$1.1B total

Rockingham County

New Hampshire

$10,988 per capita

$3.5B total

Hillsborough County

New Hampshire

$10,427 per capita

$4.4B total

Coos County

New Hampshire

$9,950 per capita

$311.1M total

Belknap County

New Hampshire

$9,768 per capita

$622.3M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside New Hampshire - 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 ($13,078 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($2.0B 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 →