PlainSpending

North Carolina Federal Spending

$129.4B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book (rank #13 of 57).

$129.4B total · $12,400 per capita · FY2025 · Ranked #13 total, #38 per capita · 20.8% below national avg

In FY2025, North Carolina received $129.4B in federal spending - $12,400 per capita, ranking #38 among 57 states and 20.8% below the national average. The most common award type is contracts, accounting for 65.6% of tracked awards. The top spending agency is Social Security Administration.

North Carolina · FY2025

North Carolina received $129.4B in federal spending in FY2025 - $12,400 per resident, 20.8% below the national average, with contracts the largest award category.

Total federal spending
$129.4B
#13 of 57 states
Per resident
$12,400
#38 per capita
Latest annual change
+$20.3B
FY2024 to FY2025 (+18.5%)
Top agency
Social Security Administration
$55.7B

Heavy absolute federal book

North Carolina sits #13 of 56 states by total federal spending ($129.4B).

According to USASpending.gov, the federal government directed a dense absolute book of $129.4B to North Carolina in FY2025 ($12,400 per resident across 10,439,388 people). Total-dollar rank #13 marks a heavy absolute footprint; per-capita rank is #38 (20.8% below the $15,647 national average).

Low per-resident intensity still shows a full award-count mix: 201,572 contracts, 13,159 grants, 19,162 loans, and 64,840 direct payments. The most common award type is contracts at 65.6% of tracked awards in the state, with direct payments a distant second at 64,840 awards. Social Security Administration is the single largest federal agency operating in North Carolina, with $55.7B in obligations - more than Department of Health and Human Services's $33.3B.

Over the available history, federal spending in North Carolina has grown 23.0% from $105.2B in FY2020 to $129.4B in FY2025 - from a below-average intensity baseline. Combined with 100 counties and top recipient North Carolina Department of Health && Human Services at $31.3B, 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) North Carolina 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 large absolute book sits

Total Spending

$129.4B

Rank #13

Per Capita

$12,400

Rank #38

Population

10,439,388

Contract Awards

201,572

Grant Awards

13,159

Total Federal Spending

$129.4B

FY2025 obligations

Per Capita

$12,400

Rank #38

Counties Receiving

100

federal dollars

Top Agency Share

$55.7B

Social Security Administration

North Carolina award-type mix by count (FY2025)

Awards65.6%21.1%ContractsDirect PaymentsLoansGrantsOther
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.
North Carolina per-capita federal spending vs. national average 66.0%
National average

Compared against the national average of $15,647 per resident.

Awards by Type

Contracts is the most common award type at 65.6% of tracked awards in North Carolina (by count, not dollar value).

Contracts 201,572 awards (65.6%)
Direct Payments 64,840 awards (21.1%)
Loans 19,162 awards (6.2%)
Grants 13,159 awards (4.3%)
Other 8,599 awards (2.8%)

Comparison to National Average

Metric North Carolina National Avg Difference
Per Capita Spending $12,400 $15,647 -20.8%
Contracts Share 0.0% - -
Grants Share 0.0% - -

Top Federal Agencies in North Carolina

Federal agencies ranked by total spending in North Carolina during FY2025.

# Agency Spending % of Total
1 Social Security Administration $55.7B 43.0%
2 Department of Health and Human Services $33.3B 25.8%
3 Department of Veterans Affairs $10.8B 8.4%
4 Department of Defense $6.2B 4.8%
5 Department of Agriculture $5.9B 4.5%
6 Department of Housing and Urban Development $2.9B 2.2%
7 Department of Education $2.8B 2.2%
8 Department of Transportation $2.8B 2.1%
9 Department of Homeland Security $2.4B 1.8%
10 Environmental Protection Agency $1.8B 1.4%

Top Recipients in North Carolina

Organizations and entities receiving the most federal funds in North Carolina.

# Recipient Total Awards
1 North Carolina Department of Health && Human Services $31.3B
2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction $2.0B
3 Transportation North Carolina Department $2.0B
4 Ashbritt INC $1.7B
5 Department of Information Technology $1.5B
6 North Carolina Department of Public Safety $1.5B
7 Department of Commerce North Carolina $1.5B
8 North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality $1.2B
9 Duke University $759.6M
10 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill $643.4M
11 Research Triangle Institute $583.4M
12 North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources $466.7M
13 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission $332.2M

Spending Trends

The latest annual comparison is +$20.3B (+18.5%) from FY2024 to FY2025; this is a difference in recorded award obligations, not a claim about cause or local benefit. Federal spending in North Carolina increased 23.0% from FY2020 to FY2025.

$90B$100B$110B$120B$130B$140B FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 $129B
Fiscal Year Total Spending Per Capita Population
FY2025 $129.4B $12,400 10,439,388
FY2024 $109.2B $10,460 10,439,388
FY2023 $100.9B $9,664 10,439,388
FY2022 $98.7B $9,453 10,439,388
FY2021 $118.1B $11,309 10,439,388
FY2020 $105.2B $10,082 10,439,388

Counties in North Carolina

100 counties ranked by federal spending in FY2025.

# County Total Spending Per Capita Population
1 Wake County $12.9B $11,428 1,129,410
2 Durham County $6.1B $18,868 324,833
3 Mecklenburg County $5.8B $5,240 1,115,482
4 Cumberland County $4.3B $12,871 334,728
5 Guilford County $4.1B $7,579 541,299
6 Buncombe County $3.6B $13,420 269,452
7 Forsyth County $2.9B $7,451 382,590
8 Onslow County $2.4B $11,691 204,576
9 Brunswick County $2.2B $15,745 136,693
10 New Hanover County $2.0B $8,720 225,702
11 Gaston County $1.6B $6,974 227,943
12 Craven County $1.5B $14,860 100,720
13 Orange County $1.5B $10,041 148,696
14 Iredell County $1.5B $7,826 186,693
15 Johnston County $1.5B $6,735 215,999
16 Henderson County $1.4B $11,875 116,281
17 Union County $1.3B $5,561 238,267
18 Catawba County $1.3B $7,792 160,610
19 Cabarrus County $1.2B $5,453 225,804
20 Pitt County $1.2B $6,895 170,243
21 Davidson County $1.1B $6,779 168,930
22 Alamance County $1.1B $6,612 171,415
23 Moore County $1.1B $11,276 99,727
24 Rowan County $1.1B $7,449 146,875
25 Randolph County $965.9M $6,700 144,171
26 Robeson County $961.4M $8,250 116,530
27 Rutherford County $957.7M $14,861 64,444
28 Harnett County $901.8M $6,751 133,568
29 Wayne County $882.7M $7,523 117,333
30 Haywood County $808.1M $13,016 62,089
31 Nash County $759.6M $7,998 94,970
32 Cleveland County $754.7M $7,583 99,519
33 Mcdowell County $741.7M $16,638 44,578
34 Rockingham County $732.6M $8,042 91,096
35 Carteret County $710.7M $10,500 67,686
36 Chatham County $649.7M $8,517 76,285
37 Wilson County $645.5M $8,193 78,784
38 Burke County $628.6M $7,178 87,570
39 Lincoln County $615.5M $7,090 86,810
40 Watauga County $585.3M $10,821 54,086
41 Caldwell County $581.3M $7,208 80,652
42 Wilkes County $572.4M $8,677 65,969
43 Lee County $532.3M $8,411 63,285
44 Pasquotank County $521.3M $12,851 40,568
45 Pender County $501.4M $8,329 60,203
46 Surry County $490.4M $6,872 71,359
47 Hoke County $472.9M $9,080 52,082
48 Lenoir County $463.4M $8,407 55,122
49 Franklin County $459.1M $6,695 68,573
50 Stanly County $453.9M $7,262 62,504
51 Transylvania County $443.3M $13,438 32,986
52 Columbus County $442.3M $8,738 50,623
53 Beaufort County $439.8M $9,849 44,652
54 Sampson County $412.0M $6,980 59,036
55 Ashe County $409.2M $15,398 26,577
56 Halifax County $404.1M $8,311 48,622
57 Granville County $389.3M $6,383 60,992
58 Duplin County $386.4M $7,932 48,715
59 Richmond County $385.8M $8,983 42,946
60 Edgecombe County $384.0M $7,852 48,900
61 Vance County $365.7M $8,588 42,578
62 Stokes County $357.4M $8,027 44,520
63 Dare County $353.0M $9,562 36,915
64 Macon County $348.4M $9,414 37,014
65 Davie County $338.4M $7,923 42,712
66 Cherokee County $327.5M $11,380 28,774
67 Polk County $311.6M $16,122 19,328
68 Person County $290.1M $7,420 39,097
69 Jackson County $283.7M $6,582 43,109
70 Bladen County $283.7M $9,582 29,606
71 Yadkin County $266.8M $7,170 37,214
72 Scotland County $266.0M $7,783 34,174
73 Currituck County $257.9M $9,179 28,100
74 Mitchell County $256.7M $17,227 14,903
75 Alexander County $254.0M $6,969 36,444
76 Yancey County $212.0M $11,476 18,470
77 Martin County $191.1M $8,676 22,031
78 Madison County $184.8M $8,719 21,193
79 Swain County $181.6M $12,867 14,117
80 Montgomery County $176.1M $6,838 25,751
81 Northampton County $173.3M $9,921 17,471
82 Caswell County $171.5M $7,545 22,736
83 Anson County $169.5M $7,685 22,055
84 Hertford County $163.2M $7,571 21,552
85 Warren County $161.1M $8,641 18,642
86 Avery County $152.6M $8,569 17,806
87 Chowan County $150.5M $10,980 13,708
88 Bertie County $149.0M $8,310 17,934
89 Pamlico County $147.4M $12,008 12,276
90 Clay County $131.0M $11,810 11,089
91 Greene County $129.6M $6,338 20,451
92 Perquimans County $127.7M $9,819 13,005
93 Jones County $124.3M $13,553 9,172
94 Alleghany County $117.1M $10,755 10,888
95 Washington County $99.2M $9,016 11,003
96 Camden County $88.2M $8,516 10,355
97 Gates County $87.2M $8,327 10,478
98 Graham County $82.8M $10,309 8,030
99 Hyde County $42.9M $9,349 4,589
100 Tyrrell County $23.0M $7,089 3,245
DOGE impact for North Carolina → Per-capita rankings → Why spending varies by state →

States With Similar Per Capita Spending

States with per capita federal spending closest to North Carolina's $12,400.

Idaho

$12,406 per capita

$22.8B total

Delaware

$12,366 per capita

$12.2B total

New Hampshire

$12,356 per capita

$17.0B total

California

$12,283 per capita

$485.6B total

Michigan

$12,538 per capita

$126.3B total

Compare North Carolina to another state side-by-side →

States with similar total federal spending

Nearest nationwide peers by total obligation volume ($129.4B here) - a different axis from the per-capita neighbors above.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did North Carolina receive in FY2025?

North Carolina received a heavy absolute book of $129.4B in FY2025 ($12,400 per capita; population 10,439,388).

What is the largest category of federal spending in North Carolina?

The most common award type is contracts, accounting for 201,572 awards (65.6% of tracked awards). The second-largest is direct payments at 64,840 awards.

How has federal spending in North Carolina changed over time?

Federal spending in North Carolina increased by 23.0% from FY2020 ($105.2B) to FY2025 ($129.4B).

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

North Carolina's $12,400 runs 20.8% below the $15,647 national average (rank #38 of 57).

Where does North Carolina rank nationally in federal spending?

North Carolina ranks #38 of 57 on per-capita intensity ($12,400 - a light band) and #13 on absolute volume ($129.4B) in FY2025.

Which federal agencies spend the most in North Carolina?

The top federal agency spending in North Carolina is Social Security Administration with $55.7B. Followed by Department of Health and Human Services ($33.3B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($10.8B).

How many counties in North Carolina receive federal spending?

100 counties in North Carolina receive federal spending. The county receiving the most is Wake County with $12.9B.

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

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