Middlesex County
$25.8B in FY2025 federal spending, $15,809 per capita.
Massachusetts · FIPS 25017
In FY2025, Middlesex County in Massachusetts received $25.8B in federal spending - $15,809 per capita for a population of 1,632,002. This is 1.0% above the national average and 7.6% above the Massachusetts average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Defense. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #1 of 14 Massachusetts counties.
- Total spending
- $25.8B
- Per capita
- $15,809
- vs. national avg
- +1.0%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Middlesex County posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Defense, among several agencies.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 7%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $15,809
- Leading agency
- Department of Defense
- 33.6% of tracked spending
- Massachusetts rank
- #1 of 14
How Middlesex County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Middlesex County vs. Massachusetts and the nation
Population: 1,632,002 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Middlesex County
Top awarding agencies in Middlesex 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 $19.6B (75.9%) of Middlesex County's $25.8B 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 - Middlesex 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 | $6.6B | 33.6% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $6.5B | 33.3% |
| Social Security Administration | $6.5B | 33.1% |
How Middlesex County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$15,809 Top 7% higher than 93% 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
Middlesex County Among Massachusetts's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: Massachusetts's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County (this county) | 1,632,002 | $15,809 | $25.8B |
| Worcester County | 862,111 | $6,968 | $6.0B |
| Essex County | 809,829 | $13,851 | $11.2B |
| Suffolk County | 797,936 | $15,681 | $12.5B |
| Norfolk County | 725,981 | $7,972 | $5.8B |
| Bristol County | 579,200 | $6,527 | $3.8B |
| Plymouth County | 530,819 | $8,056 | $4.3B |
| Hampden County | 465,825 | $7,474 | $3.5B |
| Barnstable County | 228,996 | $12,300 | $2.8B |
| Hampshire County | 162,308 | $8,156 | $1.3B |
| Berkshire County | 129,026 | $11,909 | $1.5B |
| Franklin County | 71,029 | $7,723 | $548.6M |
| Dukes County | 20,600 | $8,754 | $180.3M |
| Nantucket County | 14,255 | $4,223 | $60.2M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Middlesex County's $15,809 - prioritizing Massachusetts peers first.
Suffolk County
Massachusetts
$15,681 per capita
$12.5B total
Essex County
Massachusetts
$13,851 per capita
$11.2B total
Barnstable County
Massachusetts
$12,300 per capita
$2.8B total
Berkshire County
Massachusetts
$11,909 per capita
$1.5B total
Dukes County
Massachusetts
$8,754 per capita
$180.3M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Middlesex County, Massachusetts receive?
How does Middlesex County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Middlesex County, Massachusetts?
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.