PlainSpending

Shelby County

$12,344 per resident in FY2025 ($593.3M total) - high intensity.

Kentucky · FIPS 21211

In FY2025, Shelby County in Kentucky posted a dense absolute book of $593.3M ($12,344 per capita across 48,065 residents). That is 21.1% below the national average and 67.9% below the Kentucky average. Department of Energy leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #6 of 120.

Total spending
$593.3M
Per capita
$12,344
vs. national avg
-21.1%
Fiscal year
FY2025

High per-resident intensity

Per-capita intensity is the standout: $12,344 puts Shelby County at #417 of 3,224.

High per-resident intensity

Shelby County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending led by Department of Energy, among several agencies.

National per-capita rank
Top 13%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$12,344
Leading agency
Department of Energy
49.6% of tracked spending
Kentucky rank
#6 of 120

How Shelby County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Shelby County vs. Kentucky and the nation

Shelby County$12,344Kentucky avg$38,460National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 48,065 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Shelby County

Top awarding agencies in Shelby County, FY2025

Department of Energy$270.0MSocial Security Administrati…$246.2MDepartment of Transportation$28.4M
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Energy is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 0.7% 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 $544.6M (91.8%) of Shelby County's $593.3M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Shelby 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
Department of Energy $270.0M 49.6%
Social Security Administration $246.2M 45.2%
Department of Transportation $28.4M 5.2%

How Shelby County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$12,344 Top 13% higher than 87% 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

Shelby County Among Kentucky's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Kentucky by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Shelby 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 0200,000400,000600,000800,0001,000,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in Kentucky by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Shelby County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Jefferson County 782,969 $155,985 $122.1B
Fayette County 322,570 $9,646 $3.1B
Kenton County 169,064 $6,476 $1.1B
Boone County 135,968 $6,469 $879.5M
Warren County 134,554 $5,564 $748.7M
Hardin County 110,702 $11,800 $1.3B
Daviess County 103,312 $7,051 $728.4M
Campbell County 93,076 $6,361 $592.0M
Madison County 92,701 $10,599 $982.6M
Bullitt County 82,217 $6,206 $510.3M
Christian County 72,748 $8,491 $617.7M
Mccracken County 67,875 $8,085 $548.8M
Oldham County 67,607 $5,593 $378.1M
Pulaski County 65,034 $8,056 $523.9M
Laurel County 62,613 $7,885 $493.7M
Shelby County (this county) 48,065 $12,344 $593.3M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Shelby County's $12,344 - prioritizing Kentucky peers first.

Hardin County

Kentucky

$11,800 per capita

$1.3B total

Whitley County

Kentucky

$11,702 per capita

$429.6M total

Menifee County

Kentucky

$11,469 per capita

$70.1M total

Livingston County

Kentucky

$11,131 per capita

$98.9M total

Trigg County

Kentucky

$13,705 per capita

$192.7M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Kentucky - 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 ($12,344 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($593.3M 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 →