PlainSpending

Steele County

$31.7M in FY2025 - a thin absolute book at $17,633 per capita.

North Dakota · FIPS 38091

In FY2025, Steele County carried a thin absolute book of $31.7M - $17,633 per capita for 1,798 residents. Intensity sits 12.7% above the national average (-86.0% vs North Dakota). Leading tracked agency: Department of Agriculture. Per-capita rank in-state: #10/53.

Total spending
$31.7M
Per capita
$17,633
vs. national avg
+12.7%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Thin absolute federal book

Steele County is a light absolute book: #3063 of 3,224 with only $31.7M.

Thin absolute federal book

Steele County posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Agriculture.

National per-capita rank
Top 6%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$17,633
Leading agency
Department of Agriculture
58.3% of tracked spending
North Dakota rank
#10 of 53

How Steele County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Steele County vs. North Dakota and the nation

Steele County$17,633North Dakota avg$126,315National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 1,798 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Steele County

Top awarding agencies in Steele County, FY2025

Department of Agriculture$18.4MSocial Security Administrati…$11.8MDepartment of Veterans Affai…$1.4M
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Agriculture is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 3.3% 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 $31.6M (99.6%) of Steele County's $31.7M in total tracked federal spending.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Steele 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 Agriculture $18.4M 58.3%
Social Security Administration $11.8M 37.3%
Department of Veterans Affairs $1.4M 4.4%

How Steele County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$17,633 Top 6% higher than 94% 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

Steele County Among North Dakota's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in North Dakota by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Steele 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 050,000100,000150,000200,000 $0$200,000$400,000$600,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 16 largest-population counties in North Dakota by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Steele County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Cass County 184,525 $483,874 $89.3B
Burleigh County 98,458 $15,671 $1.5B
Grand Forks County 73,170 $13,298 $973.0M
Ward County 69,919 $8,166 $571.0M
Williams County 40,950 $4,914 $201.2M
Stark County 33,646 $5,649 $190.1M
Morton County 33,291 $7,403 $246.5M
Stutsman County 21,593 $11,682 $252.2M
Richland County 16,529 $10,136 $167.5M
Mckenzie County 14,704 $9,218 $135.5M
Rolette County 12,187 $16,670 $203.2M
Ramsey County 11,605 $12,750 $148.0M
Barnes County 10,853 $10,613 $115.2M
Walsh County 10,563 $9,489 $100.2M
Mountrail County 9,809 $11,782 $115.6M
Steele County (this county) 1,798 $17,633 $31.7M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Steele County's $17,633 - prioritizing North Dakota peers first.

Sheridan County

North Dakota

$17,500 per capita

$22.1M total

Nelson County

North Dakota

$18,169 per capita

$54.8M total

Wells County

North Dakota

$16,894 per capita

$67.3M total

Rolette County

North Dakota

$16,670 per capita

$203.2M total

Divide County

North Dakota

$16,267 per capita

$35.7M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside North Dakota - 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 ($17,633 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($31.7M 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 →