Onslow County
$2.4B in FY2025 federal spending, $11,691 per capita.
North Carolina · FIPS 37133
In FY2025, Onslow County in North Carolina received $2.4B in federal spending - $11,691 per capita for a population of 204,576. This is 25.3% below the national average and 5.7% below the North Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Defense. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #19 of 100 North Carolina counties.
- Total spending
- $2.4B
- Per capita
- $11,691
- vs. national avg
- -25.3%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Onslow County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Defense, among several agencies.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 16%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $11,691
- Leading agency
- Department of Defense
- 36.2% of tracked spending
- North Carolina rank
- #19 of 100
How Onslow County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Onslow County vs. North Carolina and the nation
Population: 204,576 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Onslow County
Top awarding agencies in Onslow 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 $2.1B (89.6%) of Onslow County's $2.4B 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 - Onslow 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 | $775.1M | 36.2% |
| Social Security Administration | $690.1M | 32.2% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $677.5M | 31.6% |
How Onslow County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$11,691 Top 16% higher than 84% 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
Onslow County Among North Carolina's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: North Carolina's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | 1,129,410 | $11,428 | $12.9B |
| Mecklenburg County | 1,115,482 | $5,240 | $5.8B |
| Guilford County | 541,299 | $7,579 | $4.1B |
| Forsyth County | 382,590 | $7,451 | $2.9B |
| Cumberland County | 334,728 | $12,871 | $4.3B |
| Durham County | 324,833 | $18,868 | $6.1B |
| Buncombe County | 269,452 | $13,420 | $3.6B |
| Union County | 238,267 | $5,561 | $1.3B |
| Gaston County | 227,943 | $6,974 | $1.6B |
| Cabarrus County | 225,804 | $5,453 | $1.2B |
| New Hanover County | 225,702 | $8,720 | $2.0B |
| Johnston County | 215,999 | $6,735 | $1.5B |
| Onslow County (this county) | 204,576 | $11,691 | $2.4B |
| Iredell County | 186,693 | $7,826 | $1.5B |
| Alamance County | 171,415 | $6,612 | $1.1B |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Onslow County's $11,691 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.
Clay County
North Carolina
$11,810 per capita
$131.0M total
Henderson County
North Carolina
$11,875 per capita
$1.4B total
Yancey County
North Carolina
$11,476 per capita
$212.0M total
Wake County
North Carolina
$11,428 per capita
$12.9B total
Cherokee County
North Carolina
$11,380 per capita
$327.5M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Onslow County, North Carolina receive?
How does Onslow County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Onslow County, North Carolina?
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.