Nelson County
$333.0M in FY2025 federal spending, $7,126 per capita.
Kentucky · FIPS 21179
In FY2025, Nelson County in Kentucky received $333.0M in federal spending - $7,126 per capita for a population of 46,738. This is 54.5% below the national average and 81.5% below the Kentucky average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #69 of 120 Kentucky counties.
- Total spending
- $333.0M
- Per capita
- $7,126
- vs. national avg
- -54.5%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Nelson County posts below-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 73%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $7,126
- Leading agency
- Social Security Administration
- 84.7% of tracked spending
- Kentucky rank
- #69 of 120
How Nelson County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Nelson County vs. Kentucky and the nation
Population: 46,738 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Nelson County
Top awarding agencies in Nelson County, FY2025
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 $289.0M (86.8%) of Nelson County's $333.0M 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 - Nelson 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 | $244.8M | 84.7% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $24.5M | 8.5% |
| Department of Transportation | $19.7M | 6.8% |
How Nelson County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$7,126 Top 73% higher than 27% 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
Nelson County Among Kentucky's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: Kentucky's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 782,969 | $155,985 | $122.1B |
| Fayette County | 322,570 | $9,646 | $3.1B |
| Kenton County | 169,064 | $6,476 | $1.1B |
| Boone County | 135,968 | $6,469 | $879.5M |
| Warren County | 134,554 | $5,564 | $748.7M |
| Hardin County | 110,702 | $11,800 | $1.3B |
| Daviess County | 103,312 | $7,051 | $728.4M |
| Campbell County | 93,076 | $6,361 | $592.0M |
| Madison County | 92,701 | $10,599 | $982.6M |
| Bullitt County | 82,217 | $6,206 | $510.3M |
| Christian County | 72,748 | $8,491 | $617.7M |
| Mccracken County | 67,875 | $8,085 | $548.8M |
| Oldham County | 67,607 | $5,593 | $378.1M |
| Pulaski County | 65,034 | $8,056 | $523.9M |
| Laurel County | 62,613 | $7,885 | $493.7M |
| Nelson County (this county) | 46,738 | $7,126 | $333.0M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Nelson County's $7,126 - prioritizing Kentucky peers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Nelson County, Kentucky receive?
How does Nelson County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Nelson County, Kentucky?
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.