PlainSpending

Union County

$14,158 per resident in FY2025 ($238.0M total) - high intensity.

South Dakota · FIPS 46127

In FY2025, Union County in South Dakota received $238.0M in federal spending - $14,158 per capita for a population of 16,811. This is 9.5% below the national average and 9.4% above the South Dakota average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #21 of 66 South Dakota counties.

Total spending
$238.0M
Per capita
$14,158
vs. national avg
-9.5%
Fiscal year
FY2025

High per-resident intensity

Per-capita intensity is the standout: $14,158 puts Union County at #289 of 3,224.

High per-resident intensity

Union County posts top-10% federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 9%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$14,158
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
54.7% of tracked spending
South Dakota rank
#21 of 66

How Union County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Union County vs. South Dakota and the nation

Union County$14,158South Dakota avg$12,944National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 16,811 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Union County

Top awarding agencies in Union County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$92.4MDepartment of Defense$41.7MDepartment of Transportation$34.7M
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 $168.8M (70.9%) of Union County's $238.0M 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 - Union 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 $92.4M 54.7%
Department of Defense $41.7M 24.7%
Department of Transportation $34.7M 20.5%

How Union County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$14,158 Top 9% higher than 91% 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

Union County Among South Dakota's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in South Dakota by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Union 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 050,000100,000150,000200,000250,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in South Dakota by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Union County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Minnehaha County 197,214 $8,232 $1.6B
Pennington County 109,222 $11,308 $1.2B
Lincoln County 65,161 $6,414 $418.0M
Brown County 38,301 $7,602 $291.2M
Brookings County 34,375 $6,805 $233.9M
Meade County 29,852 $12,098 $361.1M
Codington County 28,325 $7,324 $207.5M
Lawrence County 25,768 $11,168 $287.8M
Yankton County 23,310 $8,007 $186.6M
Davison County 19,956 $6,820 $136.1M
Beadle County 19,149 $7,558 $144.7M
Hughes County 17,765 $22,396 $397.9M
Union County (this county) 16,811 $14,158 $238.0M
Clay County 14,967 $7,186 $107.6M
Oglala Lakota County 13,672 $27,398 $374.6M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Union County's $14,158 - prioritizing South Dakota peers first.

Roberts County

South Dakota

$14,037 per capita

$144.3M total

Buffalo County

South Dakota

$13,892 per capita

$27.1M total

Deuel County

South Dakota

$13,796 per capita

$59.3M total

Jackson County

South Dakota

$14,536 per capita

$40.8M total

Spink County

South Dakota

$13,731 per capita

$87.3M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside South 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 ($14,158 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($238.0M 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 →