PlainSpending

Portsmouth City

$1.6B in FY2025 federal spending, $15,866 per capita.

Virginia · FIPS 51740

In FY2025, Portsmouth City in Virginia received $1.6B in federal spending - $15,866 per capita for a population of 97,915. This is 1.4% above the national average and 36.0% below the Virginia average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Defense. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #11 of 133 Virginia counties.

Total spending
$1.6B
Per capita
$15,866
vs. national avg
+1.4%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Portsmouth City posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Defense.

National per-capita rank
Top 7%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$15,866
Leading agency
Department of Defense
69.6% of tracked spending
Virginia rank
#11 of 133

How Portsmouth City Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Portsmouth City vs. Virginia and the nation

Top 7% nationally
Portsmouth City$15,866Virginia avg$24,807National avg$15,647

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 97,915 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Portsmouth City

Top awarding agencies in Portsmouth City, FY2025

Department of Defense$1.2BSocial Security Administration$397.6MDepartment of Veterans Affairs$134.2M

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

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 $1.7B (100%) of Portsmouth City's $1.6B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Portsmouth City 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 $1.2B 69.6%
Social Security Administration $397.6M 22.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs $134.2M 7.7%

How Portsmouth City Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$15,866 Top 7% higher than 93% of 3,224 US counties

This county $0 $20K+ 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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Portsmouth City Among Virginia's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Portsmouth City 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. 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Portsmouth City is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Fairfax County 1,150,309 $41,553 $47.8B
Prince William County 482,204 $11,352 $5.5B
Virginia Beach City 459,470 $25,372 $11.7B
Loudoun County 420,959 $12,636 $5.3B
Chesterfield County 364,548 $7,050 $2.6B
Henrico County 334,389 $8,031 $2.7B
Chesapeake City 249,422 $10,154 $2.5B
Arlington County 238,643 $95,369 $22.8B
Norfolk City 238,005 $21,250 $5.1B
Richmond City 226,610 $12,465 $2.8B
Newport News City 186,247 $33,747 $6.3B
Alexandria City 159,467 $24,766 $3.9B
Stafford County 156,927 $11,248 $1.8B
Spotsylvania County 140,032 $227,738 $31.9B
Hampton City 137,148 $15,549 $2.1B
Portsmouth City (this county) 97,915 $15,866 $1.6B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Portsmouth City's $15,866 - prioritizing Virginia peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Portsmouth City, Virginia receive?
Portsmouth City received $1.6B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $15,866 per capita for the county's population of 97,915.
How does Portsmouth City's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Portsmouth City's per capita federal spending of $15,866 is 1.4% above the national average of $15,647. Compared to the Virginia average of $24,807, it is 36.0% below.
What is the population of Portsmouth City, Virginia?
Portsmouth City has a population of 97,915 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $15,866.
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.

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.