Pennington County
$1.2B in FY2025 federal spending, $11,308 per capita.
South Dakota · FIPS 46103
In FY2025, Pennington County in South Dakota received $1.2B in federal spending - $11,308 per capita for a population of 109,222. This is 27.7% below the national average and 12.6% below the South Dakota average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #38 of 66 South Dakota counties.
- Total spending
- $1.2B
- Per capita
- $11,308
- vs. national avg
- -27.7%
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
The verdict
Pennington County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.
- National per-capita rank
- Top 18%
- of 3,232 US counties
- Per-capita spending
- $11,308
- Leading agency
- Social Security Administration
- 77.8% of tracked spending
- South Dakota rank
- #38 of 66
How Pennington County Compares
Per-capita federal spending: Pennington County vs. South Dakota and the nation
Population: 109,222 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.
Leading Federal Agencies in Pennington County
Top awarding agencies in Pennington 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 $861.1M (69.7%) of Pennington County's $1.2B 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 - Pennington 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 | $670.1M | 77.8% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $130.7M | 15.2% |
| Department of Transportation | $60.3M | 7% |
How Pennington County Ranks Nationally
Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties
All 3,232 US counties, FY2025
$11,308 Top 18% higher than 82% 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
Pennington County Among South Dakota's Largest Counties
Population vs. per-capita spending: South Dakota's biggest counties
Read the chart as a table
| County | Population | Per capita | Total spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County | 197,214 | $8,232 | $1.6B |
| Pennington County (this county) | 109,222 | $11,308 | $1.2B |
| Lincoln County | 65,161 | $6,414 | $418.0M |
| Brown County | 38,301 | $7,602 | $291.2M |
| Brookings County | 34,375 | $6,805 | $233.9M |
| Meade County | 29,852 | $12,098 | $361.1M |
| Codington County | 28,325 | $7,324 | $207.5M |
| Lawrence County | 25,768 | $11,168 | $287.8M |
| Yankton County | 23,310 | $8,007 | $186.6M |
| Davison County | 19,956 | $6,820 | $136.1M |
| Beadle County | 19,149 | $7,558 | $144.7M |
| Hughes County | 17,765 | $22,396 | $397.9M |
| Union County | 16,811 | $14,158 | $238.0M |
| Clay County | 14,967 | $7,186 | $107.6M |
| Oglala Lakota County | 13,672 | $27,398 | $374.6M |
Federal Spending Guides
Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending
Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Pennington County's $11,308 - prioritizing South Dakota peers first.
Marshall County
South Dakota
$11,330 per capita
$48.8M total
Lawrence County
South Dakota
$11,168 per capita
$287.8M total
Kingsbury County
South Dakota
$11,663 per capita
$60.5M total
Clark County
South Dakota
$11,915 per capita
$45.7M total
Meade County
South Dakota
$12,098 per capita
$361.1M total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Pennington County, South Dakota receive?
How does Pennington County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
What is the population of Pennington County, South Dakota?
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.