PlainSpending

Suffolk County

$12.5B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $15,681 per capita.

Massachusetts · FIPS 25025

In FY2025, Suffolk County in Massachusetts posted a dense absolute book of $12.5B ($15,681 per capita across 797,936 residents). That is 0.2% above the national average and 6.8% above the Massachusetts average. Department of Health and Human Services leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #2 of 14.

Total spending
$12.5B
Per capita
$15,681
vs. national avg
+0.2%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Suffolk County sits #51 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($12.5B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Suffolk County posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Department of Health and Human Services.

National per-capita rank
Top 7%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$15,681
Leading agency
Department of Health and Human Services
52.5% of tracked spending
Massachusetts rank
#2 of 14

How Suffolk County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Suffolk County vs. Massachusetts and the nation

Suffolk County$15,681Massachusetts avg$14,689National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 797,936 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Suffolk County

Top awarding agencies in Suffolk County, FY2025

Department of Health and Hum…$5.0BSocial Security Administrati…$2.4BDepartment of Housing and Ur…$2.1B
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Department of Health and Human Services is a comparatively unusual leading agency, topping only 1.1% 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 $9.5B (75.6%) of Suffolk County's $12.5B 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 - Suffolk 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 Health and Human Services $5.0B 52.5%
Social Security Administration $2.4B 25%
Department of Housing and Urban Development $2.1B 22.5%

How Suffolk County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$15,681 Top 7% higher than 93% 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

Suffolk County Among Massachusetts's Largest Counties

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

The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Suffolk County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 14 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 14 largest-population counties in Massachusetts by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Suffolk County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Middlesex County 1,632,002 $15,809 $25.8B
Worcester County 862,111 $6,968 $6.0B
Essex County 809,829 $13,851 $11.2B
Suffolk County (this county) 797,936 $15,681 $12.5B
Norfolk County 725,981 $7,972 $5.8B
Bristol County 579,200 $6,527 $3.8B
Plymouth County 530,819 $8,056 $4.3B
Hampden County 465,825 $7,474 $3.5B
Barnstable County 228,996 $12,300 $2.8B
Hampshire County 162,308 $8,156 $1.3B
Berkshire County 129,026 $11,909 $1.5B
Franklin County 71,029 $7,723 $548.6M
Dukes County 20,600 $8,754 $180.3M
Nantucket County 14,255 $4,223 $60.2M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Suffolk County's $15,681 - prioritizing Massachusetts peers first.

Middlesex County

Massachusetts

$15,809 per capita

$25.8B total

Essex County

Massachusetts

$13,851 per capita

$11.2B total

Barnstable County

Massachusetts

$12,300 per capita

$2.8B total

Berkshire County

Massachusetts

$11,909 per capita

$1.5B total

Dukes County

Massachusetts

$8,754 per capita

$180.3M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Massachusetts - 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 ($15,681 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($12.5B 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 →