St. Thomas Island

$10.1B in FY2025 federal spending, $237,831 per capita.

U.S. Virgin Islands · FIPS 78030

Compiled by PlainSpending Editorial, Federal Spending Editorial Team

Data updated September 2025

In FY2025, St. Thomas Island in U.S. Virgin Islands received $10.1B in federal spending - $237,831 per capita for a population of 42,261. This is 1420.0% above the national average and 93.1% above the U.S. Virgin Islands average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Department of Homeland Security. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #1 of 3 U.S. Virgin Islands counties.

Total spending: $10.1B
Per capita: $237,831
vs. national avg: +1420.0%
Fiscal year: FY2025

The verdict

St. Thomas Island posts top-1% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Department of Homeland Security.

National per-capita rank: Top 1%; of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending: $237,831
Leading agency: Department of Homeland Security; 95.8% of tracked spending
U.S. Virgin Islands rank: #1 of 3

Understanding St. Thomas Island's federal spending

National & state context

According to USASpending.gov, the official federal award-transaction dataset, St. Thomas Island in U.S. Virgin Islands received $10.1B in federal spending in Fiscal Year 2025, equivalent to $237,831 per resident across a Census-estimated population of 42,261 (FIPS 78030). This per-capita intensity is 1420.0% above the $15,647 national average, positioning St. Thomas Island as a relatively high-intensity recipient compared to the typical U.S. county.

Inside U.S. Virgin Islands, where statewide federal spending reached $10.7B ($123,194 per capita), St. Thomas Island's $237,831 per resident is 93.1% above the state average.

By per-capita federal spending alone, St. Thomas Island ranks #1 of 3 U.S. Virgin Islands counties.

Spending concentration

A single county rarely dominates a state's federal-spending total, but St. Thomas Island is the exception here, pulling in 93.6% of every dollar U.S. Virgin Islands received statewide, a concentration usually tied to a major base, medical center, or federal facility.

Reading this number carefully

A per-capita figure this far from the norm is worth a second look before drawing conclusions. Nationally, county-level federal spending concentrates around a small number of drivers: a major military installation, a large VA medical center or federal hospital, a national laboratory, a federal prison, or a small resident population inflating an otherwise ordinary per-capita number. The dataset records dollars by place of performance only, it does not identify which of these applies to St. Thomas Island, so this figure is best read as a prompt for further research rather than a stand-alone measure of local prosperity or federal favoritism. Readers comparing St. Thomas Island to neighboring counties should also check population size before assuming the gap reflects total dollars rather than a small denominator.

Federal spending is attributed by place of performance, not recipient headquarters. See our methodology for the full population-source, attribution, and data-vintage rules.

How St. Thomas Island Compares

Population: 42,261 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in St. Thomas Island

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Homeland Security is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 0.3% 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 $6.1B (60.2%) of St. Thomas Island's $10.1B 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 - St. Thomas Island 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 Homeland Security	$5.8B	95.8%
Social Security Administration	$187.7M	3.1%
Department of Transportation	$68.9M	1.1%

How St. Thomas Island Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$237,831 Top 1% higher than 99% of 3,224 US counties

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

Federal Spending Guides

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to St. Thomas Island's $237,831 - prioritizing U.S. Virgin Islands peers first.

St. Croix Island

U.S. Virgin Islands

$6,764 per capita

$277.4M total

St. John Island

U.S. Virgin Islands

$5,589 per capita

$21.7M total

Spotsylvania County

Virginia

$227,738 per capita

$31.9B total

Los Alamos County

New Mexico

$277,874 per capita

$5.4B total

Richland County

South Carolina

$192,829 per capita

$80.2B total

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did St. Thomas Island, U.S. Virgin Islands receive?

St. Thomas Island received $10.1B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $237,831 per capita for the county's population of 42,261.

How does St. Thomas Island's per capita spending compare to the national average?

St. Thomas Island's per capita federal spending of $237,831 is 1420.0% above the national average of $15,647. Compared to the U.S. Virgin Islands average of $123,194, it is 93.1% above.

What is the population of St. Thomas Island, U.S. Virgin Islands?

St. Thomas Island has a population of 42,261 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $237,831.

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 →