PlainSpending

Scotland County

$266.0M in FY2025 federal spending, $7,783 per capita.

North Carolina · FIPS 37165

In FY2025, Scotland County in North Carolina received $266.0M in federal spending - $7,783 per capita for a population of 34,174. This is 50.3% below the national average and 37.2% below the North Carolina average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #67 of 100 North Carolina counties.

Total spending
$266.0M
Per capita
$7,783
vs. national avg
-50.3%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Mid-ladder absolute book

Scotland County is mid-pack on absolute obligations (#1366 of 3,224, $266.0M).

Mid-ladder absolute book

Scotland County posts below-median federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 58%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$7,783
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
83.5% of tracked spending
North Carolina rank
#67 of 100

How Scotland County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Scotland County vs. North Carolina and the nation

Scotland County$7,783North Carolina avg$12,400National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 34,174 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Scotland County

Top awarding agencies in Scotland County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$209.2MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$33.7MDepartment of Housing and Ur…$7.7M
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 $250.6M (94.2%) of Scotland County's $266.0M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Scotland 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 $209.2M 83.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs $33.7M 13.5%
Department of Housing and Urban Development $7.7M 3.1%

How Scotland County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$7,783 Around the middle higher than 42% 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

Scotland County Among North Carolina's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Scotland 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in North Carolina by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Scotland County is highlighted.
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 204,576 $11,691 $2.4B
Iredell County 186,693 $7,826 $1.5B
Alamance County 171,415 $6,612 $1.1B
Scotland County (this county) 34,174 $7,783 $266.0M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Scotland County's $7,783 - prioritizing North Carolina peers first.

Catawba County

North Carolina

$7,792 per capita

$1.3B total

Iredell County

North Carolina

$7,826 per capita

$1.5B total

Edgecombe County

North Carolina

$7,852 per capita

$384.0M total

Anson County

North Carolina

$7,685 per capita

$169.5M total

Davie County

North Carolina

$7,923 per capita

$338.4M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside North Carolina - 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 ($7,783 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($266.0M 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 →