Top States by Federal Spending
According to USASpending.gov, the official federal award-transaction dataset, 57 states and territories are ranked below by total federal spending. Combined total: $5.28T.
The concentration picture
California alone draws $485.6B in federal spending, and the top 5 states together account for 32% of the $5.28T national total -- federal dollars are not spread evenly, they concentrate where population, federal facilities, and program eligibility overlap.
- Top state
- California
- $485.6B
- Top-5 share of total
- 32%
- Top state vs. median
- 8x
- total-dollar multiple
- States & territories ranked
- 57
| Rank | State | Total Spending | % of Total | Per Capita | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $485.6B | 9.2% | $12,283 | 39,538,223 |
| 2 | Florida | $325.1B | 6.2% | $15,092 | 21,538,187 |
| 3 | Texas | $311.4B | 5.9% | $10,686 | 29,145,505 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $281.6B | 5.3% | $21,653 | 13,002,700 |
| 5 | New York | $262.2B | 5.0% | $12,978 | 20,201,249 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $242.1B | 4.6% | $42,425 | 5,706,494 |
| 7 | Virginia | $214.1B | 4.1% | $24,807 | 8,631,393 |
| 8 | Indiana | $207.1B | 3.9% | $30,517 | 6,785,528 |
| 9 | Kentucky | $173.3B | 3.3% | $38,460 | 4,505,836 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $153.6B | 2.9% | $42,600 | 3,605,944 |
| 11 | South Carolina | $137.1B | 2.6% | $26,788 | 5,118,425 |
| 12 | Illinois | $134.6B | 2.6% | $10,503 | 12,812,508 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $129.4B | 2.5% | $12,400 | 10,439,388 |
| 14 | Ohio | $129.1B | 2.4% | $10,938 | 11,799,448 |
| 15 | Michigan | $126.3B | 2.4% | $12,538 | 10,077,331 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $121.4B | 2.3% | $17,561 | 6,910,840 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | $113.0B | 2.1% | $19,169 | 5,893,718 |
| 18 | Arizona | $112.1B | 2.1% | $15,678 | 7,151,502 |
| 19 | Georgia | $105.8B | 2.0% | $9,878 | 10,711,908 |
| 20 | Maryland | $105.6B | 2.0% | $17,102 | 6,177,224 |
| 21 | Massachusetts | $103.3B | 2.0% | $14,689 | 7,029,917 |
| 22 | North Dakota | $98.4B | 1.9% | $126,315 | 779,094 |
| 23 | New Jersey | $96.5B | 1.8% | $10,394 | 9,288,994 |
| 24 | Missouri | $93.8B | 1.8% | $15,232 | 6,154,913 |
| 25 | Washington | $89.5B | 1.7% | $11,619 | 7,705,281 |
| 26 | Alabama | $71.6B | 1.4% | $14,242 | 5,024,279 |
| 27 | Colorado | $70.2B | 1.3% | $12,155 | 5,773,714 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $59.8B | 1.1% | $12,840 | 4,657,757 |
| 29 | Oregon | $57.2B | 1.1% | $13,499 | 4,237,256 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | $50.2B | 1.0% | $12,682 | 3,959,353 |
| 31 | District Of Columbia | $48.9B | 0.9% | $70,928 | 689,545 |
| 32 | New Mexico | $41.5B | 0.8% | $19,577 | 2,117,522 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $41.5B | 0.8% | $19,577 | 2,117,522 |
| 34 | Mississippi | $38.5B | 0.7% | $13,008 | 2,961,279 |
| 35 | Puerto Rico | $38.4B | 0.7% | $11,693 | 3,285,874 |
| 36 | Iowa | $36.5B | 0.7% | $11,432 | 3,190,369 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $34.9B | 0.7% | $11,603 | 3,011,524 |
| 38 | Nevada | $33.9B | 0.6% | $10,929 | 3,104,614 |
| 39 | Kansas | $31.0B | 0.6% | $10,560 | 2,937,880 |
| 40 | Utah | $29.1B | 0.6% | $8,897 | 3,271,616 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $27.7B | 0.5% | $14,140 | 1,961,504 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $23.8B | 0.5% | $13,273 | 1,793,716 |
| 43 | Idaho | $22.8B | 0.4% | $12,406 | 1,839,106 |
| 44 | Hawaii | $22.6B | 0.4% | $15,554 | 1,455,271 |
| 45 | Maine | $22.0B | 0.4% | $16,154 | 1,362,359 |
| 46 | Alaska | $18.4B | 0.3% | $25,101 | 733,391 |
| 47 | New Hampshire | $17.0B | 0.3% | $12,356 | 1,377,529 |
| 48 | Montana | $15.3B | 0.3% | $14,143 | 1,084,225 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | $15.1B | 0.3% | $13,799 | 1,097,379 |
| 50 | Delaware | $12.2B | 0.2% | $12,366 | 989,948 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $11.5B | 0.2% | $12,944 | 886,667 |
| 52 | U.S. Virgin Islands | $10.7B | 0.2% | $123,194 | 87,146 |
| 53 | Vermont | $8.9B | 0.2% | $13,783 | 643,077 |
| 54 | Wyoming | $7.0B | 0.1% | $12,119 | 576,851 |
| 55 | Guam | $4.8B | 0.1% | $31,490 | 153,836 |
| 56 | American Samoa | $586.0M | 0.0% | $11,788 | 49,710 |
| 57 | Northern Mariana Islands | $171.4M | 0.0% | $3,621 | 47,329 |
Methodology
Rankings are computed directly from USASpending.gov (U.S. Treasury) obligated-amount data. Population denominators come from the U.S. Census Bureau. We do not editorialize ranks or accept payment for placement. Read the full methodology →
Every figure on PlainSpending is computed directly from USASpending.gov award-transaction data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking sorts all 50 states, DC, and territories by total federal spending, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.