Our Methodology

Data Source

All data comes from USASpending.gov, maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) of 2014. USASpending.gov tracks every federal dollar spent - from contracts and grants to loans and direct payments.

Processing Pipeline

We download fiscal year award data from the USASpending.gov API covering four major federal award types: contracts, grants, loans, and direct payments. Each award type represents different federal spending mechanisms. Our processing pipeline applies the following steps:

• State aggregation: Total obligated amounts by state, broken down by award type.
• County aggregation: County-level spending totals where place-of-performance data is available.
• Agency aggregation: Federal agency budgets and obligated amounts by award type.
• Per capita calculation: Spending totals divided by Census population estimates for the corresponding fiscal year.
• Trend computation: Multi-year spending trends by state and agency across fiscal years.

Key Definitions

• Obligated Amount: Money that a federal agency has legally committed to spend. This is the primary metric used throughout the site.
• Fiscal Year: The federal fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30. FY2025 covers October 2024 through September 2025.
• Per Capita: Total obligated spending divided by state population using Census Bureau estimates.
• Place of Performance: Spending is attributed to the location where the work is performed or the benefit is received, as reported by the awarding agency.

Data Collection Method

USASpending.gov aggregates spending data from the Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System (GTAS) and agency-reported award data submitted through the DATA Act Broker. Federal agencies are legally required to submit award-level spending data for contracts, grants, loans, and direct payments, including recipient information, place of performance, and obligated amounts. Treasury validates this data against budget account records and publishes it on USASpending.gov. We query the USASpending.gov API to download fiscal year award data in bulk, processing each award record as follows.

Update Schedule

USASpending.gov updates spending data monthly as agencies submit new award records. Full fiscal year datasets are available approximately 3–6 months after the fiscal year ends. We update our database when complete fiscal year data becomes available and periodically within active fiscal years to capture ongoing spending activity. Historical fiscal year data remains stable across updates, Treasury does not retroactively modify published award records except to correct data quality issues reported through agency reconciliation processes.

Data Accuracy Commitment

All spending figures are presented exactly as reported through the DATA Act submission process. We do not adjust, normalize, or editorialize obligated amounts. Where we compute derived metrics (per capita spending, percentage breakdowns, year-over-year changes), the calculations use straightforward arithmetic applied to the source data. Agency and award type classifications follow USASpending.gov's official categorization system.

Limitations

• Spending is attributed by place of performance, which may differ from where the economic benefit is ultimately received.
• Some federal programs (classified defense, intelligence) may not be fully represented in USASpending.gov data.
• County-level data may be incomplete, some awards are reported only at the state level.
• Data is updated periodically as USASpending.gov publishes new fiscal year reports.
• Per capita calculations use Census population estimates that may not match the exact fiscal year reference period.
• Negative obligations (de-obligations, cancellations) are included in totals and may cause some categories to show reduced spending.

Editorial Workflow

PlainSpending is built around a data-first pipeline. The spending figures are loaded directly from USASpending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), and the contract/grant-termination figures from the DOGE.gov savings API, automatically, and every number shown on a state, county, agency, or rankings page is computed from those official source records, never invented, estimated by hand, or interpolated. The surrounding written material, guide articles, methodology notes, and the framing on each page, is compiled by the PlainSpending editorial team and reviewed before it is published. We do not accept payment for coverage, placement, or rankings; the "top" and "bottom" rankings are computed directly from USASpending.gov obligation data. DOGE savings are presented as claimed figures reported by DOGE.gov, not as independently audited amounts.

Not Affiliated

PlainSpending is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, USASpending.gov, or any federal agency. This site is for informational purposes only.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does PlainSpending's data come from?

All federal spending figures come from USASpending.gov, the official Treasury Department portal mandated by the DATA Act of 2014. We also reference public Treasury.gov, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data for context. Population denominators for per capita calculations come from U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

How often is the data updated?

USASpending.gov publishes new award data on a rolling monthly cadence; full fiscal year datasets are typically available 3–6 months after the fiscal year closes on September 30. PlainSpending refreshes its database when complete fiscal year data is published and periodically within active fiscal years. The fiscal year shown on each state and agency page reflects the snapshot date.

How accurate are the obligated amounts shown?

We display obligation amounts exactly as reported through the federal DATA Act submission process, without adjustment. Derived metrics (per capita, percentage breakdowns, year-over-year changes) use straightforward arithmetic on those source figures. Agency and award type classifications follow USASpending.gov's official categorization.

What are the known limitations of this data?

Spending is attributed by place of performance, which may differ from where the economic benefit is received. Classified defense and intelligence programs may not be fully represented. Some awards are reported only at the state level, leading to county-level undercounts. All figures are nominal (current-year) dollars, not inflation-adjusted. Negative obligations (de-obligations) are included in totals.