PlainSpending

Wayne County

$22.6B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $12,584 per capita.

Michigan · FIPS 26163

In FY2025, Wayne County in Michigan posted a dense absolute book of $22.6B ($12,584 per capita across 1,793,561 residents). That is 19.6% below the national average and 0.4% above the Michigan average. Department of Health and Human Services leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #10 of 83.

Total spending
$22.6B
Per capita
$12,584
vs. national avg
-19.6%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Wayne County sits #29 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($22.6B).

Heavy absolute federal book

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

National per-capita rank
Top 13%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$12,584
Leading agency
Department of Health and Human Services
52% of tracked spending
Michigan rank
#10 of 83

How Wayne County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Wayne County vs. Michigan and the nation

Wayne County$12,584Michigan avg$12,538National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 1,793,561 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Wayne County

Top awarding agencies in Wayne County, FY2025

Department of Health and Hum…$10.3BSocial Security Administrati…$8.7BGeneral Services Administrat…$789.9M
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 $19.9B (88%) of Wayne County's $22.6B 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 - Wayne 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 $10.3B 52%
Social Security Administration $8.7B 44%
General Services Administration $789.9M 4%

How Wayne County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$12,584 Top 13% higher than 87% 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

Wayne County Among Michigan's Largest Counties

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

The 15 largest-population counties in Michigan by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Wayne 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 0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 15 largest-population counties in Michigan by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Wayne County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Wayne County (this county) 1,793,561 $12,584 $22.6B
Oakland County 1,274,395 $8,534 $10.9B
Macomb County 881,217 $8,686 $7.7B
Kent County 657,974 $10,936 $7.2B
Genesee County 406,211 $7,394 $3.0B
Washtenaw County 372,258 $8,854 $3.3B
Ottawa County 296,200 $6,215 $1.8B
Ingham County 284,900 $25,899 $7.4B
Kalamazoo County 261,670 $6,525 $1.7B
Livingston County 193,866 $7,865 $1.5B
Saginaw County 190,124 $7,558 $1.4B
Muskegon County 175,824 $9,471 $1.7B
St. Clair County 160,383 $7,460 $1.2B
Jackson County 160,366 $7,819 $1.3B
Monroe County 154,809 $7,963 $1.2B

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Wayne County's $12,584 - prioritizing Michigan peers first.

Eaton County

Michigan

$12,544 per capita

$1.4B total

Leelanau County

Michigan

$12,721 per capita

$283.7M total

Lake County

Michigan

$12,775 per capita

$154.5M total

Roscommon County

Michigan

$12,069 per capita

$283.1M total

Houghton County

Michigan

$11,793 per capita

$440.6M total

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

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Michigan - 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 ($12,584 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($22.6B 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 →