PlainSpending

Somerset County

$2.3B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $6,565 per capita.

New Jersey · FIPS 34035

In FY2025, Somerset County in New Jersey posted a dense absolute book of $2.3B ($6,565 per capita across 345,361 residents). That is 58.0% below the national average and 36.8% below the New Jersey average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #18 of 21.

Total spending
$2.3B
Per capita
$6,565
vs. national avg
-58.0%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Somerset County sits #282 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($2.3B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 85%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$6,565
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
83.2% of tracked spending
New Jersey rank
#18 of 21

How Somerset County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Somerset County vs. New Jersey and the nation

Somerset County$6,565New Jersey avg$10,394National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 345,361 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Somerset County

Top awarding agencies in Somerset County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$1.7BDepartment of Veterans Affai…$197.7MDepartment of Defense$149.3M
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 $2.1B (91.4%) of Somerset County's $2.3B in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Somerset 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 $1.7B 83.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs $197.7M 9.5%
Department of Defense $149.3M 7.2%

How Somerset County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$6,565 Among the lowest higher than 15% 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

Somerset County Among New Jersey's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in New Jersey by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Somerset 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 200,000400,000600,000800,0001,000,000 $4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000$14,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in New Jersey by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Somerset County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Bergen County 955,732 $8,220 $7.9B
Essex County 863,728 $7,934 $6.9B
Middlesex County 863,162 $5,709 $4.9B
Hudson County 724,854 $6,610 $4.8B
Monmouth County 643,615 $8,600 $5.5B
Ocean County 637,229 $7,805 $5.0B
Union County 575,345 $5,027 $2.9B
Passaic County 524,118 $5,440 $2.9B
Camden County 523,485 $7,070 $3.7B
Morris County 509,285 $8,024 $4.1B
Burlington County 461,860 $13,102 $6.1B
Mercer County 387,340 $13,406 $5.2B
Somerset County (this county) 345,361 $6,565 $2.3B
Gloucester County 302,294 $6,786 $2.1B
Atlantic County 274,534 $8,127 $2.2B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Somerset County's $6,565 - prioritizing New Jersey peers first.

Hudson County

New Jersey

$6,610 per capita

$4.8B total

Cumberland County

New Jersey

$6,767 per capita

$1.0B total

Gloucester County

New Jersey

$6,786 per capita

$2.1B total

Sussex County

New Jersey

$6,935 per capita

$1.0B total

Camden County

New Jersey

$7,070 per capita

$3.7B total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside New Jersey - 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 ($6,565 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($2.3B 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 →