Total Federal Spending
$173.3B
FY2025 obligations
Kentucky Federal Spending
$173.3B in FY2025 federal spending, $38,460 per capita.
$173.3B total · $38,460 per capita · FY2025 · Ranked #9 total, #6 per capita · 145.8% above national avg
In FY2025, Kentucky received $173.3B in federal spending - $38,460 per capita, ranking #6 among 57 states and 145.8% above the national average. The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 43.8% of tracked awards. The top spending agency is Department of Health and Human Services.
Kentucky · FY2025
Kentucky received $173.3B in federal spending in FY2025 - $38,460 per resident, 145.8% above the national average, with direct payments the largest award category.
- Total federal spending
- $173.3B
- #9 of 57 states
- Per resident
- $38,460
- #6 per capita
- Counties receiving funds
- 120
- place of performance
- Top agency
- Dept. of Health and Human Services
- $127.3B
According to USASpending.gov, the official federal award-transaction dataset, the federal government directed $173.3B to Kentucky in FY2025, translating to $38,460 per resident across a population of 4,505,836. That per-capita figure is 145.8% above the $15,647 national average and ranks Kentucky #6 of 57 states per capita, while total-dollar rank is #9, illustrating the difference between volume of federal dollars and intensity of federal dependence.
The award-type mix shows how federal awards break down in Kentucky by count: 65,007 contracts, 6,628 grants, 8,162 loans, and 67,579 direct payments. The most common award type is direct payments at 43.8% of tracked awards in the state, with contracts a distant second at 65,007 awards. Department of Health and Human Services is the single largest federal agency operating in Kentucky, with $127.3B in obligations - more than Social Security Administration's $23.5B.
Over the available history, federal spending in Kentucky has grown 38.5% from $125.1B in FY2020 to $173.3B in FY2025. Combined with 120 counties receiving dollars and top recipient Health Services Kentucky Cabinet For at $18.2B, this snapshot lets readers judge whether Kentucky's federal footprint is expanding, stable, or being scaled back relative to FY2025.
It helps to read state totals through two different lenses. Total dollars measure the raw volume of federal money flowing into a state, which naturally favors larger and more populous states. Per-capita spending measures intensity, how much federal money lands per resident, and it surfaces smaller states whose economies lean heavily on federal installations, contracts, or transfer payments. The two rankings often disagree, which is exactly why both appear above. The award mix matters too: contracts signal procurement of goods and services, grants flow to universities, nonprofits, and local governments, and direct payments include programs such as Social Security and Medicare that scale with population. Every figure comes from USASpending.gov, the federal spending-transparency system the U.S. Treasury has operated since the DATA Act of 2014. Federal outlays exceeded $7.0 trillion in fiscal year 2025 (CBO Monthly Budget Review), and these are official government records rather than estimates, though late-posted and corrected awards can adjust a state's totals after the year closes. Our methodology details the per-capita denominator, the award categories, and the data vintage.
Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) + System for Award Management (SAM) Kentucky 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.
Key Statistics
Total Spending
$173.3B
Rank #9
Per Capita
$38,460
Rank #6
Population
4,505,836
Contract Awards
65,007
Grant Awards
6,628
Per Capita
$38,460
Rank #6
Counties Receiving
120
federal dollars
Top Agency Share
$127.3B
Department of Health and Human
Kentucky award-type mix by count (FY2025)
Kentucky per-capita federal spending vs. national average 83.3%
National average
Compared against the national average of $15,647 per resident.
Awards by Type
Direct Payments is the most common award type at 43.8% of tracked awards in Kentucky (by count, not dollar value).
Direct Payments 67,579 awards (43.8%)
Contracts 65,007 awards (42.1%)
Loans 8,162 awards (5.3%)
Other 7,025 awards (4.5%)
Grants 6,628 awards (4.3%)
Comparison to National Average
| Metric | Kentucky | National Avg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per Capita Spending | $38,460 | $15,647 | +145.8% |
| Contracts Share | 0.0% | - | - |
| Grants Share | 0.0% | - | - |
Top Federal Agencies in Kentucky
Federal agencies ranked by total spending in Kentucky during FY2025.
| # | Agency | Spending | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Health and Human Services | $127.3B | 73.5% |
| 2 | Social Security Administration | $23.5B | 13.6% |
| 3 | Department of Defense | $9.7B | 5.6% |
| 4 | Department of Agriculture | $3.2B | 1.8% |
| 5 | Department of Veterans Affairs | $2.9B | 1.7% |
| 6 | Department of Transportation | $1.8B | 1.0% |
| 7 | Department of Education | $1.5B | 0.9% |
| 8 | Department of Commerce | $1.2B | 0.7% |
| 9 | Department of Housing and Urban Development | $804.2M | 0.5% |
| 10 | Department of Homeland Security | $505.3M | 0.3% |
| 11 | Department of Energy | $456.2M | 0.3% |
Top Recipients in Kentucky
Organizations and entities receiving the most federal funds in Kentucky.
| # | Recipient | Total Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Health Services Kentucky Cabinet For | $18.2B |
| 2 | Humana Government Business INC | $6.5B |
| 3 | Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Kentucky | $1.4B |
| 4 | Kentucky Department of Education | $1.2B |
| 5 | Commonwealth of Kentucky | $1.1B |
| 6 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $837.5M |
| 7 | East Kentucky Power Cooperative, INC. | $671.0M |
| 8 | Kentucky Department for Local Government | $378.3M |
| 9 | Energy && Environment Cabinet | $318.1M |
| 10 | Kentucky Department of Military Affairs | $317.4M |
| 11 | Cfm International INC | $302.4M |
| 12 | Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, a Joint Venture | $289.5M |
| 13 | Wieland North America Recycling LLC | $270.0M |
| 14 | University of Kentucky Research Foundation, The | $261.4M |
| 15 | United Parcel Service CO. | $248.3M |
| 16 | Louisville Metro Housing Authority | $186.5M |
| 17 | Kentucky Infrastructure Authority | $170.9M |
Spending Trends
Federal spending in Kentucky increased 38.5% from FY2020 to FY2025.
| Fiscal Year | Total Spending | Per Capita | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $173.3B | $38,460 | 4,505,836 |
| FY2024 | $163.0B | $36,176 | 4,505,836 |
| FY2023 | $159.3B | $35,362 | 4,505,836 |
| FY2022 | $150.4B | $33,376 | 4,505,836 |
| FY2021 | $144.9B | $32,161 | 4,505,836 |
| FY2020 | $125.1B | $27,771 | 4,505,836 |
Counties in Kentucky
120 counties ranked by federal spending in FY2025.
| # | County | Total Spending | Per Capita | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson County | $122.1B | $155,985 | 782,969 |
| 2 | Fayette County | $3.1B | $9,646 | 322,570 |
| 3 | Franklin County | $1.7B | $33,394 | 51,541 |
| 4 | Hardin County | $1.3B | $11,800 | 110,702 |
| 5 | Kenton County | $1.1B | $6,476 | 169,064 |
| 6 | Madison County | $982.6M | $10,599 | 92,701 |
| 7 | Clark County | $898.9M | $24,314 | 36,972 |
| 8 | Boone County | $879.5M | $6,469 | 135,968 |
| 9 | Warren County | $748.7M | $5,564 | 134,554 |
| 10 | Daviess County | $728.4M | $7,051 | 103,312 |
| 11 | Christian County | $617.7M | $8,491 | 72,748 |
| 12 | Shelby County | $593.3M | $12,344 | 48,065 |
| 13 | Campbell County | $592.0M | $6,361 | 93,076 |
| 14 | Mccracken County | $548.8M | $8,085 | 67,875 |
| 15 | Pulaski County | $523.9M | $8,056 | 65,034 |
| 16 | Bullitt County | $510.3M | $6,206 | 82,217 |
| 17 | Laurel County | $493.7M | $7,885 | 62,613 |
| 18 | Pike County | $481.4M | $8,206 | 58,669 |
| 19 | Whitley County | $429.6M | $11,702 | 36,712 |
| 20 | Henderson County | $405.1M | $9,045 | 44,793 |
| 21 | Boyd County | $390.9M | $8,099 | 48,261 |
| 22 | Oldham County | $378.1M | $5,593 | 67,607 |
| 23 | Floyd County | $364.3M | $10,135 | 35,942 |
| 24 | Hopkins County | $349.6M | $7,698 | 45,423 |
| 25 | Jessamine County | $349.5M | $6,596 | 52,991 |
| 26 | Nelson County | $333.0M | $7,126 | 46,738 |
| 27 | Marshall County | $325.9M | $10,294 | 31,659 |
| 28 | Scott County | $308.0M | $5,389 | 57,155 |
| 29 | Greenup County | $295.9M | $8,229 | 35,962 |
| 30 | Barren County | $280.6M | $6,308 | 44,485 |
| 31 | Calloway County | $270.4M | $7,287 | 37,103 |
| 32 | Boyle County | $266.2M | $8,696 | 30,614 |
| 33 | Graves County | $252.7M | $6,894 | 36,649 |
| 34 | Muhlenberg County | $242.6M | $7,843 | 30,928 |
| 35 | Woodford County | $242.1M | $9,009 | 26,871 |
| 36 | Knox County | $231.6M | $7,672 | 30,193 |
| 37 | Perry County | $228.1M | $8,010 | 28,473 |
| 38 | Letcher County | $227.3M | $10,547 | 21,548 |
| 39 | Harlan County | $223.1M | $8,315 | 26,831 |
| 40 | Carter County | $217.3M | $8,160 | 26,627 |
| 41 | Anderson County | $211.7M | $8,874 | 23,852 |
| 42 | Trigg County | $192.7M | $13,705 | 14,061 |
| 43 | Meade County | $187.7M | $6,255 | 30,003 |
| 44 | Bell County | $186.5M | $7,738 | 24,097 |
| 45 | Grayson County | $184.2M | $6,972 | 26,420 |
| 46 | Ohio County | $184.0M | $7,742 | 23,772 |
| 47 | Mccreary County | $182.9M | $10,831 | 16,888 |
| 48 | Montgomery County | $181.6M | $6,461 | 28,114 |
| 49 | Johnson County | $180.5M | $7,957 | 22,680 |
| 50 | Logan County | $175.8M | $6,409 | 27,432 |
| 51 | Rowan County | $173.1M | $7,018 | 24,662 |
| 52 | Lincoln County | $169.9M | $6,998 | 24,275 |
| 53 | Taylor County | $169.1M | $6,499 | 26,023 |
| 54 | Bourbon County | $165.3M | $8,164 | 20,252 |
| 55 | Russell County | $164.8M | $9,158 | 17,991 |
| 56 | Mercer County | $162.0M | $7,155 | 22,641 |
| 57 | Grant County | $162.0M | $6,495 | 24,941 |
| 58 | Breckinridge County | $153.9M | $7,531 | 20,432 |
| 59 | Wayne County | $151.8M | $7,760 | 19,555 |
| 60 | Mason County | $141.3M | $8,253 | 17,120 |
| 61 | Rockcastle County | $137.5M | $8,575 | 16,037 |
| 62 | Clay County | $136.4M | $6,705 | 20,345 |
| 63 | Allen County | $136.1M | $6,610 | 20,588 |
| 64 | Knott County | $128.6M | $9,027 | 14,251 |
| 65 | Simpson County | $126.7M | $6,464 | 19,594 |
| 66 | Magoffin County | $126.2M | $10,844 | 11,637 |
| 67 | Adair County | $126.0M | $6,663 | 18,903 |
| 68 | Harrison County | $125.0M | $6,685 | 18,692 |
| 69 | Lyon County | $123.1M | $14,178 | 8,680 |
| 70 | Garrard County | $122.0M | $7,195 | 16,953 |
| 71 | Marion County | $118.8M | $6,066 | 19,581 |
| 72 | Breathitt County | $117.2M | $8,540 | 13,718 |
| 73 | Spencer County | $117.0M | $6,005 | 19,490 |
| 74 | Lawrence County | $116.2M | $7,133 | 16,293 |
| 75 | Hart County | $113.6M | $5,890 | 19,288 |
| 76 | Butler County | $110.7M | $8,950 | 12,371 |
| 77 | Union County | $106.4M | $7,787 | 13,668 |
| 78 | Washington County | $106.2M | $8,830 | 12,027 |
| 79 | Henry County | $105.5M | $6,729 | 15,678 |
| 80 | Estill County | $102.1M | $7,212 | 14,163 |
| 81 | Webster County | $100.6M | $7,729 | 13,017 |
| 82 | Fleming County | $99.8M | $6,617 | 15,082 |
| 83 | Casey County | $99.3M | $6,232 | 15,941 |
| 84 | Larue County | $99.2M | $6,671 | 14,867 |
| 85 | Livingston County | $98.9M | $11,131 | 8,888 |
| 86 | Caldwell County | $97.3M | $7,695 | 12,649 |
| 87 | Pendleton County | $92.8M | $6,334 | 14,644 |
| 88 | Todd County | $90.1M | $7,360 | 12,243 |
| 89 | Powell County | $89.2M | $6,791 | 13,129 |
| 90 | Carroll County | $88.8M | $8,218 | 10,810 |
| 91 | Martin County | $87.7M | $7,774 | 11,287 |
| 92 | Jackson County | $87.0M | $6,717 | 12,955 |
| 93 | Morgan County | $86.6M | $6,309 | 13,726 |
| 94 | Edmonson County | $84.2M | $6,948 | 12,126 |
| 95 | Lewis County | $80.1M | $6,126 | 13,080 |
| 96 | Mclean County | $78.3M | $8,555 | 9,152 |
| 97 | Bath County | $77.4M | $6,067 | 12,750 |
| 98 | Green County | $75.2M | $6,766 | 11,107 |
| 99 | Leslie County | $73.9M | $7,033 | 10,513 |
| 100 | Menifee County | $70.1M | $11,469 | 6,113 |
| 101 | Ballard County | $69.5M | $8,999 | 7,728 |
| 102 | Owen County | $68.5M | $6,071 | 11,278 |
| 103 | Hancock County | $66.7M | $7,333 | 9,095 |
| 104 | Monroe County | $64.7M | $5,709 | 11,338 |
| 105 | Metcalfe County | $64.1M | $6,231 | 10,286 |
| 106 | Gallatin County | $63.9M | $7,351 | 8,690 |
| 107 | Crittenden County | $63.7M | $7,082 | 8,990 |
| 108 | Clinton County | $63.0M | $6,804 | 9,253 |
| 109 | Bracken County | $59.8M | $7,119 | 8,400 |
| 110 | Fulton County | $58.9M | $9,043 | 6,515 |
| 111 | Lee County | $58.1M | $7,856 | 7,395 |
| 112 | Cumberland County | $56.2M | $9,537 | 5,888 |
| 113 | Trimble County | $55.3M | $6,529 | 8,474 |
| 114 | Wolfe County | $47.8M | $7,287 | 6,562 |
| 115 | Elliott County | $44.7M | $6,080 | 7,354 |
| 116 | Nicholas County | $43.5M | $5,767 | 7,537 |
| 117 | Hickman County | $40.7M | $8,996 | 4,521 |
| 118 | Carlisle County | $37.1M | $7,682 | 4,826 |
| 119 | Owsley County | $27.9M | $6,889 | 4,051 |
| 120 | Robertson County | $14.8M | $6,752 | 2,193 |
Explore Kentucky Federal Spending
Go deeper on Kentucky's federal footprint.
DOGE Impact for Kentucky
Reported federal contract and grant terminations, claimed savings, per-capita impact, and state ranking.
DOGE state impact →
Per-Capita Rankings
Where Kentucky ranks among all states for federal spending per resident.
Top Federal Agencies
The agencies that move the most money nationwide, by obligated amount.
Federal Spending Guides
Learn more about how federal spending works and how to interpret this data.
Understanding Federal Spending
Contracts, grants, loans, and how federal money flows to states and communities.
Why Spending Varies by State
Military bases, federal labs, population, and per capita analysis.
Where Does Federal Money Go?
Mandatory vs. discretionary, top agencies, and biggest programs.
How Federal Contracts Are Awarded
Procurement process, contract types, and small business set-asides.
States With Similar Per Capita Spending
States with per capita federal spending closest to Kentucky's $38,460.
What this means
Kentucky ranks #6 of 57 states by FY2025 per-capita federal spending.
- Per-capita spending is 145.8% above the national average -- a structural signal, not a claim about efficiency or need. Per-capita rankings
- Department of Health and Human Services is the single largest federal agency operating here, obligating 73.5% of every dollar tracked in Kentucky. Agency rankings
- 120 counties in Kentucky receive federal dollars -- the county-level pages break down exactly where. See counties
Per-capita and national-average figures use each state's most recent Census population estimate against the same FY total; they describe HOW money is distributed, not whether that distribution is justified.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much federal spending did Kentucky receive in FY2025?
Kentucky received $173.3B in total federal spending during Fiscal Year 2025. This equates to $38,460 per capita for the state's population of 4,505,836.
How does Kentucky's federal spending per capita compare to the national average?
Kentucky's per capita federal spending of $38,460 is 145.8% above the national average of $15,647. Kentucky ranks #6 out of 57 states by per capita spending.
What is the largest category of federal spending in Kentucky?
The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 67,579 awards (43.8% of tracked awards). The second-largest is contracts at 65,007 awards.
Which federal agencies spend the most in Kentucky?
The top federal agency spending in Kentucky is Department of Health and Human Services with $127.3B. Followed by Social Security Administration ($23.5B) and Department of Defense ($9.7B).
How many counties in Kentucky receive federal spending?
120 counties in Kentucky receive federal spending. The county receiving the most is Jefferson County with $122.1B.
How has federal spending in Kentucky changed over time?
Federal spending in Kentucky increased by 38.5% from FY2020 ($125.1B) to FY2025 ($173.3B).
Where does Kentucky rank nationally in federal spending?
Kentucky ranks #9 out of 57 states in total federal spending and #6 in per capita spending. The state received $173.3B total ($38,460 per person) in FY2025.
Data Sources
- USASpending.gov: Federal spending data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Fiscal Year: FY2025
- Award types: Contracts, grants, loans, direct payments, and other financial assistance
- Population: U.S. Census Bureau estimates used for per capita calculations
- Budget context: Agency totals cross-referenced with OMB Program and Financial Schedules where applicable
Spending figures represent obligated amounts from federal awards. Per capita calculations use Census population estimates. This information is for research and informational purposes only.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.
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 county-level federal award within the state, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.