PlainSpending

Wise County

$430.2M in FY2025 federal spending, $11,907 per capita.

Virginia · FIPS 51195

In FY2025, Wise County in Virginia received $430.2M in federal spending - $11,907 per capita for a population of 36,130. This is 23.9% below the national average and 52.0% below the Virginia average. The leading federal agency by spending share is Social Security Administration. By per-capita federal spending, it ranks #24 of 133 Virginia counties.

Total spending
$430.2M
Per capita
$11,907
vs. national avg
-23.9%
Fiscal year
FY2025

The verdict

Wise County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending concentrated almost entirely in Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 15%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$11,907
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
87.9% of tracked spending
Virginia rank
#24 of 133

How Wise County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Wise County vs. Virginia and the nation

Top 15% nationally
Wise County$11,907Virginia avg$24,807National avg$15,647

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 36,130 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Wise County

Top awarding agencies in Wise County, FY2025

Social Security Administration$249.3MDepartment of Veterans Affairs$23.9MDepartment of Education$10.6M

Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 1,150 US counties with agency-level spending data, Social Security Administration is the most common leading agency nationally, topping 86% of agency-tracked counties.

These 3 agencies together account for $283.7M (65.9%) of Wise County's $430.2M 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 - Wise 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 $249.3M 87.9%
Department of Veterans Affairs $23.9M 8.4%
Department of Education $10.6M 3.7%

How Wise County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$11,907 Top 15% higher than 85% of 3,224 US counties

This county $0 $20K+ 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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Wise County Among Virginia's Largest Counties

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

The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Wise 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. 0500,0001,000,0001,500,000 $0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 Population Spending per capita ($) Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways
The 16 largest-population counties in Virginia by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Wise County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Fairfax County 1,150,309 $41,553 $47.8B
Prince William County 482,204 $11,352 $5.5B
Virginia Beach City 459,470 $25,372 $11.7B
Loudoun County 420,959 $12,636 $5.3B
Chesterfield County 364,548 $7,050 $2.6B
Henrico County 334,389 $8,031 $2.7B
Chesapeake City 249,422 $10,154 $2.5B
Arlington County 238,643 $95,369 $22.8B
Norfolk City 238,005 $21,250 $5.1B
Richmond City 226,610 $12,465 $2.8B
Newport News City 186,247 $33,747 $6.3B
Alexandria City 159,467 $24,766 $3.9B
Stafford County 156,927 $11,248 $1.8B
Spotsylvania County 140,032 $227,738 $31.9B
Hampton City 137,148 $15,549 $2.1B
Wise County (this county) 36,130 $11,907 $430.2M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Wise County's $11,907 - prioritizing Virginia peers first.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Wise County, Virginia receive?
Wise County received $430.2M in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $11,907 per capita for the county's population of 36,130.
How does Wise County's per capita spending compare to the national average?
Wise County's per capita federal spending of $11,907 is 23.9% below the national average of $15,647. Compared to the Virginia average of $24,807, it is 52.0% below.
What is the population of Wise County, Virginia?
Wise County has a population of 36,130 according to Census Bureau estimates. This population figure is used to calculate the per capita federal spending of $11,907.
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.

Every figure on PlainSpending is computed directly from USASpending.gov award-transaction data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates every federal award with a place-of-performance in this county, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.