PlainSpending

Arkansas Federal Spending

$11,603 per resident in FY2025 - low intensity (rank #46).

$34.9B total · $11,603 per capita · FY2025 · Ranked #36 total, #46 per capita · 25.7% below national avg

In FY2025, Arkansas received $34.9B in federal spending - $11,603 per capita, ranking #46 among 56 states and 25.7% below the national average. The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 53.8% of tracked awards. The top spending agency is Social Security Administration.

Arkansas · FY2025

Arkansas received $34.9B in federal spending in FY2025 - $11,603 per resident, 25.7% below the national average, with direct payments the largest award category.

Total federal spending
$34.9B
#36 of 56 states
Per resident
$11,603
#46 per capita
Latest annual change
+$3.2B
FY2024 to FY2025 (+10.1%)
Top agency
Social Security Administration
$16.3B

Low per-resident intensity

Arkansas ranks #46 of 56 by per-capita spending ($11,603) - a light intensity band.

According to USASpending.gov, Arkansas received $34.9B in FY2025 ($11,603 per resident; population 3,011,524). Total rank #36 and per-capita rank #46 (25.7% below the $15,622 national average) show volume vs intensity.

Low per-resident intensity still shows a full award-count mix: 37,497 contracts, 5,055 grants, 8,496 loans, and 68,463 direct payments. The most common award type is direct payments at 53.8% of tracked awards in the state, with contracts a distant second at 37,497 awards. Social Security Administration is the single largest federal agency operating in Arkansas, with $16.3B in obligations - more than Department of Health and Human Services's $8.5B.

Over the available history, federal spending in Arkansas has grown 3.7% from $33.7B in FY2020 to $34.9B in FY2025 - from a below-average intensity baseline. Combined with 75 counties and top recipient Human Services, Arkansas Department Of at $7.2B, the trail shows whether the light intensity is closing the gap.

Figures are award-transaction data from USASpending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury). See our methodology for per-capita denominators and award categories.

Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) + System for Award Management (SAM) Arkansas federal awards (contracts, grants, loans, direct payments) for FY2025 · 2025 USAspending.gov publishes award-level data within ~30 days of obligation; categories follow OMB Object Class Codes. Per-capita metrics use Census ACS population estimates as the denominator.

Where this low-intensity state sits

Total Spending

$34.9B

Rank #36

Per Capita

$11,603

Rank #46

Population

3,011,524

Contract Awards

37,497

Grant Awards

5,055

Total Federal Spending

$34.9B

FY2025 obligations

Per Capita

$11,603

Rank #46

Counties Receiving

75

federal dollars

Top Agency Share

$16.3B

Social Security Administration

Arkansas award-type mix by count (FY2025)

Awards53.8%29.5%Direct PaymentsContractsLoansOtherGrants
Per-state share of tracked federal awards BY COUNT across major OMB-aligned award types (not a dollar-value breakdown). Mandatory-vs-discretionary marker reflects the entitlement-vs-appropriated split.
Arkansas per-capita federal spending vs. national average 61.9%
National average

Compared against the national average of $15,622 per resident.

Awards by Type

Direct Payments is the most common award type at 53.8% of tracked awards in Arkansas (by count, not dollar value).

Direct Payments 68,463 awards (53.8%)
Contracts 37,497 awards (29.5%)
Loans 8,496 awards (6.7%)
Other 7,698 awards (6.1%)
Grants 5,055 awards (4.0%)

Comparison to National Average

Metric Arkansas National Avg Difference
Per Capita Spending $11,603 $15,622 -25.7%
Contracts Share 0.0% - -
Grants Share 0.0% - -

Fiscal Resilience Score

A single derived score summarizing how diversified and stable Arkansas's federal funding mix is, built from four signals already in this page.

C-
Fiscal Resilience Score
54/100
Arkansas

A transparent derived index from USASpending.gov federal award data, not an official government rating. It measures how diversified and stable Arkansas's federal funding mix is across award types, agencies, and fiscal years, not whether that funding is well or poorly spent. Full formula and benchmark table: methodology.

Award-Type Mix D
61%
Diversification across contract/grant/loan/direct-payment/other award counts
Agency Mix F
69%
Diversification of obligated dollars across federal agencies operating in-state
Per-Capita Norm D
26% from avg
Distance of per-resident federal spending from the national average
Funding Stability A
6.2% CV
Year-over-year spending volatility across 6 fiscal years

Top Federal Agencies in Arkansas

Federal agencies ranked by total spending in Arkansas during FY2025.

# Agency Spending % of Total
1 Social Security Administration $16.3B 46.7%
2 Department of Health and Human Services $8.5B 24.3%
3 Department of Veterans Affairs $2.6B 7.4%
4 Department of Agriculture $1.8B 5.2%
5 Department of Commerce $1.0B 3.0%
6 Department of Transportation $1.0B 2.9%
7 Department of Defense $983.2M 2.8%
8 Department of Education $909.9M 2.6%
9 Department of Energy $370.3M 1.1%
10 Department of Housing and Urban Development $356.0M 1.0%

Top Recipients in Arkansas

Organizations and entities receiving the most federal funds in Arkansas.

# Recipient Total Awards
1 Human Services, Arkansas Department Of $7.2B
2 Arkansas Economic Development Commission $1.1B
3 Department of Education Arkansas $1.0B
4 Arkansas Department of Transportation $812.3M
5 Arkansas Department of Human Services $666.6M
6 General Dynamics-Ots, INC. $384.8M
7 Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality $185.4M
8 Swa Lithium LLC $125.7M
9 Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated $103.8M
10 Arkansas Division of Emergency Management $103.5M
11 Metroplan $100.0M
12 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences $96.0M
13 University of Arkansas $94.1M

Spending Trends

The latest annual comparison is +$3.2B (+10.1%) from FY2024 to FY2025; this is a difference in recorded award obligations, not a claim about cause or local benefit. Federal spending in Arkansas increased 3.7% from FY2020 to FY2025.

$30B$32B$34B$36B$38B FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 $35B
Fiscal Year Total Spending Per Capita Population
FY2025 $34.9B $11,603 3,011,524
FY2024 $31.7B $10,543 3,011,524
FY2023 $32.0B $10,636 3,011,524
FY2022 $31.4B $10,431 3,011,524
FY2021 $37.2B $12,358 3,011,524
FY2020 $33.7B $11,185 3,011,524

Counties in Arkansas

75 counties ranked by federal spending in FY2025.

# County Total Spending Per Capita Population
1 Pulaski County $5.5B $13,660 399,125
2 Benton County $1.5B $5,417 284,333
3 Washington County $1.4B $5,609 245,871
4 Garland County $986.8M $9,850 100,180
5 Sebastian County $931.8M $7,291 127,799
6 Saline County $876.6M $7,103 123,416
7 Faulkner County $749.6M $6,069 123,498
8 Craighead County $743.4M $6,684 111,231
9 Jefferson County $597.6M $8,884 67,260
10 White County $557.0M $7,251 76,822
11 Lonoke County $544.1M $7,351 74,015
12 Crawford County $459.5M $7,641 60,133
13 Baxter County $457.9M $11,000 41,627
14 Pope County $456.9M $7,208 63,381
15 Calhoun County $432.5M $91,273 4,739
16 Boone County $341.3M $9,132 37,373
17 Crittenden County $329.1M $6,834 48,163
18 Mississippi County $314.5M $7,730 40,685
19 Greene County $303.4M $6,634 45,736
20 Union County $297.3M $7,614 39,054
21 Miller County $284.3M $6,674 42,600
22 Independence County $262.4M $6,916 37,938
23 Cleburne County $250.8M $10,151 24,711
24 Arkansas County $240.7M $14,037 17,149
25 Hot Spring County $234.4M $7,094 33,040
26 Carroll County $227.5M $8,050 28,260
27 Columbia County $208.5M $9,143 22,801
28 Ouachita County $201.5M $8,896 22,650
29 Johnson County $189.8M $7,370 25,749
30 Lafayette County $187.0M $29,643 6,308
31 Poinsett County $178.2M $7,758 22,965
32 Sharp County $171.1M $9,906 17,271
33 Conway County $170.6M $8,237 20,715
34 Clark County $170.3M $7,942 21,446
35 Polk County $167.4M $8,712 19,221
36 St. Francis County $165.6M $7,170 23,090
37 Marion County $162.1M $9,632 16,826
38 Logan County $161.4M $7,638 21,131
39 Randolph County $158.4M $8,531 18,571
40 Ashley County $155.3M $8,149 19,062
41 Phillips County $151.6M $9,152 16,568
42 Van Buren County $148.1M $9,373 15,796
43 Drew County $147.8M $8,520 17,350
44 Franklin County $145.1M $8,487 17,097
45 Hempstead County $142.3M $7,090 20,065
46 Yell County $139.1M $6,864 20,263
47 Izard County $135.2M $9,956 13,577
48 Grant County $132.9M $7,400 17,958
49 Cross County $130.1M $7,729 16,833
50 Clay County $127.5M $8,764 14,552
51 Madison County $126.7M $7,669 16,521
52 Lawrence County $125.0M $7,707 16,216
53 Stone County $119.0M $9,630 12,359
54 Fulton County $113.0M $9,361 12,075
55 Jackson County $110.5M $6,594 16,755
56 Desha County $105.5M $9,257 11,395
57 Little River County $95.3M $7,925 12,026
58 Woodruff County $93.3M $14,887 6,269
59 Chicot County $92.3M $9,045 10,208
60 Prairie County $85.5M $10,327 8,282
61 Sevier County $85.2M $5,378 15,839
62 Scott County $82.8M $8,417 9,836
63 Howard County $82.2M $6,428 12,785
64 Lee County $82.0M $9,533 8,600
65 Perry County $78.5M $7,831 10,019
66 Monroe County $77.3M $11,368 6,799
67 Lincoln County $74.4M $5,753 12,941
68 Searcy County $73.0M $9,328 7,828
69 Pike County $71.1M $6,993 10,171
70 Montgomery County $70.4M $8,300 8,484
71 Nevada County $68.0M $8,185 8,310
72 Bradley County $65.4M $6,205 10,545
73 Cleveland County $64.4M $8,535 7,550
74 Newton County $61.7M $8,534 7,225
75 Dallas County $53.0M $8,182 6,482
DOGE impact for Arkansas → Per-capita rankings → Why spending varies by state →

States With Similar Per Capita Spending

States with per capita federal spending closest to Arkansas's $11,603.

Washington

$11,619 per capita

$89.5B total

Puerto Rico

$11,693 per capita

$38.4B total

Iowa

$11,432 per capita

$36.5B total

American Samoa

$11,788 per capita

$586.0M total

Wyoming

$12,119 per capita

$7.0B total

Compare Arkansas to another state side-by-side →

States with similar total federal spending

Nearest nationwide peers by total obligation volume ($34.9B here) - a different axis from the per-capita neighbors above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Arkansas rank nationally in federal spending?

Arkansas ranks #46 of 56 on per-capita intensity ($11,603 - a light band) and #36 on absolute volume ($34.9B) in FY2025.

Which federal agencies spend the most in Arkansas?

The top federal agency spending in Arkansas is Social Security Administration with $16.3B. Followed by Department of Health and Human Services ($8.5B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($2.6B).

How much federal spending did Arkansas receive in FY2025?

Arkansas received $34.9B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $11,603 per capita for the state's population of 3,011,524.

How does Arkansas's federal spending per capita compare to the national average?

Arkansas's $11,603 runs 25.7% below the $15,622 national average (rank #46 of 56).

What is the largest category of federal spending in Arkansas?

The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 68,463 awards (53.8% of tracked awards). The second-largest is contracts at 37,497 awards.

How many counties in Arkansas receive federal spending?

75 counties in Arkansas receive federal spending. The county receiving the most is Pulaski County with $5.5B.

How has federal spending in Arkansas changed over time?

Federal spending in Arkansas increased by 3.7% from FY2020 ($33.7B) to FY2025 ($34.9B).

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.

Verify with USASpending.gov → Verify population with U.S. Census Bureau →