PlainSpending

Palo Alto County

$86.0M in FY2025 - a thin absolute book at $9,555 per capita.

Iowa · FIPS 19147

In FY2025, Palo Alto County carried a thin absolute book of $86.0M - $9,555 per capita for 8,996 residents. Intensity sits 38.9% below the national average (-16.4% vs Iowa). Leading tracked agency: Social Security Administration. Per-capita rank in-state: #15/99.

Total spending
$86.0M
Per capita
$9,555
vs. national avg
-38.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Thin absolute federal book

Palo Alto County is a light absolute book: #2482 of 3,224 with only $86.0M.

Thin absolute federal book

Palo Alto County posts above-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 31%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$9,555
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
63.7% of tracked spending
Iowa rank
#15 of 99

How Palo Alto County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Palo Alto County vs. Iowa and the nation

Palo Alto County$9,555Iowa avg$11,432National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 8,996 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Palo Alto County

Top awarding agencies in Palo Alto County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$50.6MDepartment of Agriculture$21.8MDepartment of Health and Hum…$7.1M
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 $79.5M (92.5%) of Palo Alto County's $86.0M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Palo Alto 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 $50.6M 63.7%
Department of Agriculture $21.8M 27.5%
Department of Health and Human Services $7.1M 8.9%

How Palo Alto County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$9,555 Higher than most higher than 69% 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

Palo Alto County Among Iowa's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Iowa by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Palo Alto 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. Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways 0200,000400,000600,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Iowa by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Palo Alto County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Polk County 492,401 $8,689 $4.3B
Linn County 230,299 $14,286 $3.3B
Scott County 174,669 $6,475 $1.1B
Johnson County 152,854 $7,353 $1.1B
Black Hawk County 131,144 $7,035 $922.6M
Woodbury County 105,941 $6,667 $706.3M
Dallas County 99,678 $5,045 $502.9M
Dubuque County 99,266 $7,862 $780.4M
Story County 98,537 $8,246 $812.5M
Pottawattamie County 93,667 $7,177 $672.3M
Warren County 52,403 $6,537 $342.5M
Clinton County 46,460 $7,884 $366.3M
Muscatine County 43,235 $7,062 $305.3M
Cerro Gordo County 43,127 $8,675 $374.1M
Marshall County 40,105 $7,031 $282.0M
Palo Alto County (this county) 8,996 $9,555 $86.0M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Palo Alto County's $9,555 - prioritizing Iowa peers first.

Monona County

Iowa

$9,615 per capita

$84.1M total

Franklin County

Iowa

$9,637 per capita

$96.6M total

Pocahontas County

Iowa

$9,456 per capita

$66.9M total

Sac County

Iowa

$9,676 per capita

$95.0M total

Adams County

Iowa

$9,428 per capita

$34.9M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Iowa - 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 ($9,555 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($86.0M 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 →