PlainSpending

Penobscot County

$1.4B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $9,246 per capita.

Maine · FIPS 23019

In FY2025, Penobscot County in Maine posted a dense absolute book of $1.4B ($9,246 per capita across 152,199 residents). That is 40.9% below the national average and 42.8% below the Maine average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #10 of 16.

Total spending
$1.4B
Per capita
$9,246
vs. national avg
-40.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Penobscot County sits #410 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($1.4B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 34%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$9,246
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
78.1% of tracked spending
Maine rank
#10 of 16

How Penobscot County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Penobscot County vs. Maine and the nation

Penobscot County$9,246Maine avg$16,154National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 152,199 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Penobscot County

Top awarding agencies in Penobscot County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$904.7MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$167.3MDepartment of Transportation$85.8M
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 $1.2B (82.3%) of Penobscot County's $1.4B 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 - Penobscot 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 $904.7M 78.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs $167.3M 14.4%
Department of Transportation $85.8M 7.4%

How Penobscot County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$9,246 Higher than most higher than 66% 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

Penobscot County Among Maine's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Maine by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Penobscot County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 15 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 0100,000200,000300,000400,000 $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Maine by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Penobscot County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Cumberland County 303,069 $12,622 $3.8B
York County 211,972 $11,348 $2.4B
Penobscot County (this county) 152,199 $9,246 $1.4B
Kennebec County 123,642 $14,016 $1.7B
Androscoggin County 111,139 $7,089 $787.8M
Aroostook County 67,105 $11,386 $764.1M
Oxford County 57,777 $8,523 $492.4M
Hancock County 55,478 $10,611 $588.7M
Somerset County 50,477 $8,669 $437.6M
Knox County 40,607 $8,992 $365.1M
Waldo County 39,607 $8,735 $346.0M
Sagadahoc County 36,699 $73,013 $2.7B
Lincoln County 35,237 $9,633 $339.4M
Washington County 31,095 $15,233 $473.7M
Franklin County 29,456 $8,920 $262.8M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Penobscot County's $9,246 - prioritizing Maine peers first.

Knox County

Maine

$8,992 per capita

$365.1M total

Franklin County

Maine

$8,920 per capita

$262.8M total

Lincoln County

Maine

$9,633 per capita

$339.4M total

Waldo County

Maine

$8,735 per capita

$346.0M total

Somerset County

Maine

$8,669 per capita

$437.6M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Maine - 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 ($9,246 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($1.4B 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 →