PlainSpending

Pennsylvania Federal Spending

$281.6B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book (rank #4 of 57).

$281.6B total · $21,653 per capita · FY2025 · Ranked #4 total, #12 per capita · 38.4% above national avg

In FY2025, Pennsylvania received $281.6B in federal spending - $21,653 per capita, ranking #12 among 57 states and 38.4% above the national average. The most common award type is contracts, accounting for 85.2% of tracked awards. The top spending agency is Department of Health and Human Services.

Pennsylvania · FY2025

Pennsylvania received $281.6B in federal spending in FY2025 - $21,653 per resident, 38.4% above the national average, with contracts the largest award category.

Total federal spending
$281.6B
#4 of 57 states
Per resident
$21,653
#12 per capita
Latest annual change
+$14.8B
FY2024 to FY2025 (+5.5%)
Top agency
Dept. of Health and Human Services
$155.6B

Heavy absolute federal book

Pennsylvania sits #4 of 56 states by total federal spending ($281.6B).

According to USASpending.gov, the federal government directed a dense absolute book of $281.6B to Pennsylvania in FY2025 ($21,653 per resident across 13,002,700 people). Total-dollar rank #4 marks a heavy absolute footprint; per-capita rank is #12 (38.4% above the $15,647 national average).

High per-resident intensity shapes the award-count mix: 681,601 contracts, 18,518 grants, 45,743 loans, and 48,386 direct payments. The most common award type is contracts at 85.2% of tracked awards in the state, with direct payments a distant second at 48,386 awards. Department of Health and Human Services is the single largest federal agency operating in Pennsylvania, with $155.6B in obligations - more than Social Security Administration's $72.9B.

Over the available history, federal spending in Pennsylvania has grown 0.8% from $279.2B in FY2020 to $281.6B in FY2025 - against an already above-average intensity band. Combined with 67 counties and top recipient PA Department of Human Services at $36.2B, the trail shows whether the heavy intensity is still rising.

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) Pennsylvania 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

$281.6B

Rank #4

Per Capita

$21,653

Rank #12

Population

13,002,700

Contract Awards

681,601

Grant Awards

18,518

Total Federal Spending

$281.6B

FY2025 obligations

Per Capita

$21,653

Rank #12

Counties Receiving

67

federal dollars

Top Agency Share

$155.6B

Department of Health and Human

Pennsylvania award-type mix by count (FY2025)

Awards85.2%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.
Pennsylvania per-capita federal spending vs. national average 83.3%
National average

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

Awards by Type

Contracts is the most common award type at 85.2% of tracked awards in Pennsylvania (by count, not dollar value).

Contracts 681,601 awards (85.2%)
Direct Payments 48,386 awards (6.0%)
Loans 45,743 awards (5.7%)
Grants 18,518 awards (2.3%)
Other 5,669 awards (0.7%)

Comparison to National Average

Metric Pennsylvania National Avg Difference
Per Capita Spending $21,653 $15,647 +38.4%
Contracts Share 0.0% - -
Grants Share 0.0% - -

Top Federal Agencies in Pennsylvania

Federal agencies ranked by total spending in Pennsylvania during FY2025.

# Agency Spending % of Total
1 Department of Health and Human Services $155.6B 55.3%
2 Social Security Administration $72.9B 25.9%
3 Department of Defense $23.1B 8.2%
4 Department of Veterans Affairs $6.4B 2.3%
5 Department of Agriculture $6.2B 2.2%
6 Department of Transportation $4.2B 1.5%
7 Department of Education $3.0B 1.0%
8 Department of Energy $2.5B 0.9%
9 Department of Housing and Urban Development $2.5B 0.9%
10 Environmental Protection Agency $1.1B 0.4%

Top Recipients in Pennsylvania

Organizations and entities receiving the most federal funds in Pennsylvania.

# Recipient Total Awards
1 PA Department of Human Services $36.2B
2 Amerisourcebergen Drug CORP $7.4B
3 Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC $3.6B
4 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation $2.9B
5 Pennsylvania Dept of Eduation $2.6B
6 Pennsylvania Dept of Education $2.6B
7 Bae Systems Land && Armaments L.p. $2.2B
8 Bechtel Plant Machinery, INC. $2.1B
9 The Boeing Company $1.2B
10 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection $1.0B
11 Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, The $882.3M
12 University of Pittsburgh -- of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education $815.5M
13 United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension $684.4M
14 Philadelphia Housing Authority $638.5M
15 The Pennsylvania State University $632.3M

Spending Trends

The latest annual comparison is +$14.8B (+5.5%) from FY2024 to FY2025; this is a difference in recorded award obligations, not a claim about cause or local benefit. Federal spending in Pennsylvania increased 0.8% from FY2020 to FY2025.

$220B$240B$260B$280B$300B FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 $282B
Fiscal Year Total Spending Per Capita Population
FY2025 $281.6B $21,653 13,002,700
FY2024 $266.8B $20,516 13,002,700
FY2023 $256.3B $19,709 13,002,700
FY2022 $231.3B $17,787 13,002,700
FY2021 $262.7B $20,207 13,002,700
FY2020 $279.2B $21,474 13,002,700

Counties in Pennsylvania

67 counties ranked by federal spending in FY2025.

# County Total Spending Per Capita Population
1 Cumberland County $106.3B $409,868 259,469
2 Allegheny County $25.7B $20,569 1,250,578
3 Philadelphia County $14.0B $8,758 1,603,797
4 Montgomery County $13.9B $16,199 856,553
5 York County $6.1B $13,388 456,438
6 Dauphin County $5.2B $18,283 286,401
7 Bucks County $5.1B $7,832 646,538
8 Delaware County $5.0B $8,623 576,830
9 Chester County $3.8B $7,048 534,413
10 Lancaster County $3.7B $6,731 552,984
11 Westmoreland County $3.0B $8,569 354,663
12 Luzerne County $2.9B $8,753 325,594
13 Berks County $2.8B $6,537 428,849
14 Lehigh County $2.5B $6,652 374,557
15 Northampton County $2.2B $7,151 312,951
16 Erie County $2.1B $7,612 270,876
17 Lackawanna County $1.8B $8,490 215,896
18 Montour County $1.8B $99,124 18,136
19 Washington County $1.8B $8,577 209,349
20 Cambria County $1.7B $13,102 133,472
21 Butler County $1.7B $8,524 193,763
22 Franklin County $1.5B $9,770 155,932
23 Centre County $1.5B $9,627 158,172
24 Beaver County $1.3B $8,010 168,215
25 Monroe County $1.3B $7,752 168,327
26 Lebanon County $1.1B $7,651 143,257
27 Fayette County $1.1B $8,374 128,804
28 Schuylkill County $1.0B $7,225 143,049
29 Blair County $1.0B $8,190 122,822
30 Mercer County $974.7M $8,809 110,652
31 Lycoming County $873.2M $7,647 114,188
32 Adams County $823.6M $7,931 103,852
33 Crawford County $683.2M $8,139 83,938
34 Northumberland County $657.2M $7,170 91,647
35 Lawrence County $652.4M $7,580 86,070
36 Armstrong County $600.4M $9,159 65,558
37 Indiana County $599.2M $7,199 83,246
38 Clearfield County $585.6M $7,269 80,562
39 Somerset County $577.7M $7,793 74,129
40 Carbon County $502.8M $7,765 64,749
41 Pike County $491.4M $8,394 58,535
42 Columbia County $460.6M $7,116 64,727
43 Wayne County $439.2M $8,586 51,155
44 Bradford County $433.1M $7,223 59,967
45 Venango County $407.7M $8,080 50,454
46 Bedford County $383.4M $8,059 47,577
47 Susquehanna County $345.0M $8,976 38,434
48 Jefferson County $342.6M $7,700 44,492
49 Warren County $332.8M $8,624 38,587
50 Tioga County $322.8M $7,864 41,045
51 Perry County $319.1M $6,961 45,842
52 Mifflin County $314.3M $6,811 46,143
53 Huntingdon County $305.1M $6,919 44,092
54 Mckean County $301.6M $7,458 40,432
55 Clarion County $266.5M $7,157 37,241
56 Clinton County $259.7M $6,935 37,450
57 Snyder County $252.9M $6,364 39,736
58 Greene County $252.7M $7,027 35,954
59 Union County $249.1M $5,836 42,681
60 Elk County $240.1M $7,746 30,990
61 Wyoming County $199.2M $7,641 26,069
62 Juniata County $164.8M $7,009 23,509
63 Potter County $136.3M $8,312 16,396
64 Fulton County $120.1M $8,252 14,556
65 Sullivan County $60.3M $10,329 5,840
66 Forest County $52.0M $7,455 6,973
67 Cameron County $47.6M $10,478 4,547
DOGE impact for Pennsylvania → Per-capita rankings → Why spending varies by state →

States With Similar Per Capita Spending

States with per capita federal spending closest to Pennsylvania's $21,653.

New Mexico

$19,577 per capita

$41.5B total

New Mexico

$19,577 per capita

$41.5B total

Wisconsin

$19,169 per capita

$113.0B total

Virginia

$24,807 per capita

$214.1B total

Alaska

$25,101 per capita

$18.4B total

Compare Pennsylvania to another state side-by-side →

States with similar total federal spending

Nearest nationwide peers by total obligation volume ($281.6B here) - a different axis from the per-capita neighbors above.

  • New York · $262.2B total · $12,978 per capita
  • Texas · $311.4B total · $10,686 per capita
  • Minnesota · $242.1B total · $42,425 per capita
  • Florida · $325.1B total · $15,092 per capita

Frequently Asked Questions

How much federal spending did Pennsylvania receive in FY2025?

Pennsylvania received a heavy absolute book of $281.6B in FY2025 ($21,653 per capita; population 13,002,700).

What is the largest category of federal spending in Pennsylvania?

The most common award type is contracts, accounting for 681,601 awards (85.2% of tracked awards). The second-largest is direct payments at 48,386 awards.

How has federal spending in Pennsylvania changed over time?

Federal spending in Pennsylvania increased by 0.8% from FY2020 ($279.2B) to FY2025 ($281.6B).

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

Pennsylvania's $21,653 runs 38.4% above the $15,647 national average (rank #12 of 57).

Where does Pennsylvania rank nationally in federal spending?

Pennsylvania ranks #12 of 57 on per-capita intensity ($21,653) and #4 on absolute volume ($281.6B) in FY2025.

Which federal agencies spend the most in Pennsylvania?

The top federal agency spending in Pennsylvania is Department of Health and Human Services with $155.6B. Followed by Social Security Administration ($72.9B) and Department of Defense ($23.1B).

How many counties in Pennsylvania receive federal spending?

67 counties in Pennsylvania receive federal spending. The county receiving the most is Cumberland County with $106.3B.

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

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