PlainSpending

Wisconsin Federal Spending

$19,169 per resident in FY2025 - high intensity (rank #14).

$113.0B total · $19,169 per capita · FY2025 · Ranked #17 total, #14 per capita · 22.7% above national avg

In FY2025, Wisconsin received $113.0B in federal spending - $19,169 per capita, ranking #14 among 56 states and 22.7% above the national average. The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 43.4% of tracked awards. The top spending agency is Department of Health and Human Services.

Wisconsin · FY2025

Wisconsin received $113.0B in federal spending in FY2025 - $19,169 per resident, 22.7% above the national average, with direct payments the largest award category.

Total federal spending
$113.0B
#17 of 56 states
Per resident
$19,169
#14 per capita
Latest annual change
+$1.5B
FY2024 to FY2025 (+1.3%)
Top agency
Dept. of Health and Human Services
$63.1B

High per-resident intensity

Wisconsin ranks #14 of 56 by per-capita federal spending ($19,169).

According to USASpending.gov, the federal government directed a dense absolute book of $113.0B to Wisconsin in FY2025 ($19,169 per resident across 5,893,718 people). Total-dollar rank #17 marks a heavy absolute footprint; per-capita rank is #14 (22.7% above the $15,622 national average).

High per-resident intensity shapes the award-count mix: 79,538 contracts, 10,386 grants, 16,072 loans, and 86,540 direct payments. The most common award type is direct payments at 43.4% of tracked awards in the state, with contracts a distant second at 79,538 awards. Department of Health and Human Services is the single largest federal agency operating in Wisconsin, with $63.1B in obligations - more than Social Security Administration's $33.0B.

Over the available history, federal spending in Wisconsin has contracted 10.4% from $126.0B in FY2020 to $113.0B in FY2025 - against an already above-average intensity band. Combined with 72 counties and top recipient State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services at $11.0B, 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) Wisconsin 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 high-intensity state sits

Total Spending

$113.0B

Rank #17

Per Capita

$19,169

Rank #14

Population

5,893,718

Contract Awards

79,538

Grant Awards

10,386

Total Federal Spending

$113.0B

FY2025 obligations

Per Capita

$19,169

Rank #14

Counties Receiving

72

federal dollars

Top Agency Share

$63.1B

Department of Health and Human

Wisconsin award-type mix by count (FY2025)

Awards43.4%39.9%8.1%Direct PaymentsContractsLoansGrantsOther
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.
Wisconsin per-capita federal spending vs. national average 83.3%
National average

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

Awards by Type

Direct Payments is the most common award type at 43.4% of tracked awards in Wisconsin (by count, not dollar value).

Direct Payments 86,540 awards (43.4%)
Contracts 79,538 awards (39.9%)
Loans 16,072 awards (8.1%)
Grants 10,386 awards (5.2%)
Other 6,996 awards (3.5%)

Comparison to National Average

Metric Wisconsin National Avg Difference
Per Capita Spending $19,169 $15,622 +22.7%
Contracts Share 0.0% - -
Grants Share 0.0% - -

Fiscal Resilience Score

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

D
Fiscal Resilience Score
42/100
Wisconsin

A transparent derived index from USASpending.gov federal award data, not an official government rating. It measures how diversified and stable Wisconsin'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 C+
64%
Diversification across contract/grant/loan/direct-payment/other award counts
Agency Mix F
59%
Diversification of obligated dollars across federal agencies operating in-state
Per-Capita Norm D
23% from avg
Distance of per-resident federal spending from the national average
Funding Stability F
8.5% CV
Year-over-year spending volatility across 6 fiscal years

Top Federal Agencies in Wisconsin

Federal agencies ranked by total spending in Wisconsin during FY2025.

# Agency Spending % of Total
1 Department of Health and Human Services $63.1B 55.9%
2 Social Security Administration $33.0B 29.2%
3 Department of Veterans Affairs $5.5B 4.8%
4 Department of Defense $3.1B 2.7%
5 Department of Agriculture $2.5B 2.2%
6 Department of Transportation $1.7B 1.5%
7 Department of Education $1.3B 1.1%
8 Department of Housing and Urban Development $692.7M 0.6%
9 Environmental Protection Agency $387.0M 0.3%
10 Department of Energy $284.1M 0.3%

Top Recipients in Wisconsin

Organizations and entities receiving the most federal funds in Wisconsin.

# Recipient Total Awards
1 State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services $11.0B
2 Optumserve Health Services, INC. $2.5B
3 Oshkosh Defense LLC $1.4B
4 Wisconsin Department of Transportation $1.4B
5 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction $837.5M
6 University of Wisconsin System $758.0M
7 State of Wisconsin Dept of Children && Families $722.0M
8 Amtec Corporation $401.1M
9 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources $323.9M
10 State of Wisconsin Dept of Admin $235.8M
11 State of Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance $223.3M
12 Workforce Development, Wisconsin Department Of $218.1M
13 Department of Military Affairs Wisconsin $169.4M

Spending Trends

The latest annual comparison is +$1.5B (+1.3%) from FY2024 to FY2025; this is a difference in recorded award obligations, not a claim about cause or local benefit. Federal spending in Wisconsin decreased 10.4% from FY2020 to FY2025.

$90B$100B$110B$120B$130B FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 $113B
Fiscal Year Total Spending Per Capita Population
FY2025 $113.0B $19,169 5,893,718
FY2024 $111.5B $18,921 5,893,718
FY2023 $103.7B $17,599 5,893,718
FY2022 $95.3B $16,170 5,893,718
FY2021 $110.5B $18,740 5,893,718
FY2020 $126.0B $21,382 5,893,718

Counties in Wisconsin

72 counties ranked by federal spending in FY2025.

# County Total Spending Per Capita Population
1 Dane County $54.4B $96,863 561,504
2 Milwaukee County $6.0B $6,376 939,489
3 Winnebago County $3.7B $21,391 171,730
4 La Crosse County $3.4B $28,100 120,784
5 Waukesha County $3.2B $7,959 406,978
6 Brown County $1.8B $6,595 268,740
7 Rock County $1.5B $9,463 163,687
8 Outagamie County $1.4B $7,226 190,705
9 Wood County $1.4B $18,422 74,207
10 Racine County $1.3B $6,617 197,727
11 Kenosha County $1.1B $6,400 169,151
12 Washington County $957.9M $7,004 136,761
13 Marathon County $908.3M $6,581 138,013
14 Sheboygan County $823.8M $6,979 118,034
15 Walworth County $733.1M $6,885 106,478
16 Ozaukee County $704.7M $7,701 91,503
17 Fond Du Lac County $702.2M $6,742 104,154
18 Eau Claire County $674.3M $6,379 105,710
19 Manitowoc County $620.6M $7,628 81,359
20 Dodge County $594.9M $6,655 89,396
21 St. Croix County $594.2M $6,353 93,536
22 Jefferson County $557.5M $6,567 84,900
23 Marinette County $526.2M $12,567 41,872
24 Monroe County $485.6M $10,493 46,274
25 Portage County $480.2M $6,824 70,377
26 Waupaca County $479.0M $9,244 51,812
27 Sauk County $472.5M $7,184 65,763
28 Chippewa County $471.0M $7,104 66,297
29 Columbia County $449.9M $7,691 58,490
30 Oneida County $392.8M $10,379 37,845
31 Barron County $381.9M $8,176 46,711
32 Polk County $369.1M $8,206 44,977
33 Douglas County $358.7M $8,097 44,295
34 Grant County $344.1M $6,625 51,938
35 Door County $315.1M $10,482 30,066
36 Oconto County $308.8M $7,925 38,965
37 Shawano County $307.3M $7,517 40,881
38 Calumet County $301.0M $5,740 52,442
39 Dunn County $294.6M $6,483 45,440
40 Pierce County $286.7M $6,792 42,212
41 Vilas County $271.2M $11,766 23,047
42 Green County $268.1M $7,229 37,093
43 Juneau County $250.9M $9,389 26,718
44 Lincoln County $238.8M $8,404 28,415
45 Adams County $237.0M $11,473 20,654
46 Vernon County $222.0M $7,227 30,714
47 Sawyer County $214.7M $11,878 18,074
48 Clark County $213.1M $6,149 34,659
49 Waushara County $210.4M $8,581 24,520
50 Trempealeau County $201.7M $6,558 30,760
51 Burnett County $182.9M $11,065 16,526
52 Bayfield County $178.6M $11,009 16,220
53 Washburn County $176.5M $10,617 16,623
54 Kewaunee County $169.2M $8,229 20,563
55 Langlade County $168.8M $8,659 19,491
56 Iowa County $167.2M $7,054 23,709
57 Ashland County $162.8M $10,157 16,027
58 Jackson County $155.5M $7,352 21,145
59 Marquette County $152.9M $9,808 15,592
60 Green Lake County $152.8M $8,034 19,018
61 Crawford County $142.4M $8,835 16,113
62 Price County $136.2M $9,689 14,054
63 Taylor County $126.5M $6,351 19,913
64 Richland County $121.4M $7,016 17,304
65 Rusk County $121.0M $8,527 14,188
66 Lafayette County $118.7M $7,144 16,611
67 Forest County $109.2M $11,894 9,179
68 Buffalo County $105.7M $7,939 13,317
69 Menominee County $73.7M $17,321 4,255
70 Iron County $65.9M $10,736 6,137
71 Pepin County $62.6M $8,559 7,318
72 Florence County $46.9M $10,285 4,558
DOGE impact for Wisconsin → Per-capita rankings → Why spending varies by state →

States With Similar Per Capita Spending

States with per capita federal spending closest to Wisconsin's $19,169.

New Mexico

$19,577 per capita

$41.5B total

Tennessee

$17,561 per capita

$121.4B total

Maryland

$17,102 per capita

$105.6B total

Pennsylvania

$21,653 per capita

$281.6B total

Maine

$16,154 per capita

$22.0B total

Compare Wisconsin to another state side-by-side →

States with similar total federal spending

Nearest nationwide peers by total obligation volume ($113.0B here) - a different axis from the per-capita neighbors above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Wisconsin rank nationally in federal spending?

Wisconsin ranks #14 of 56 on per-capita intensity ($19,169) and #17 on absolute volume ($113.0B) in FY2025.

Which federal agencies spend the most in Wisconsin?

The top federal agency spending in Wisconsin is Department of Health and Human Services with $63.1B. Followed by Social Security Administration ($33.0B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($5.5B).

How much federal spending did Wisconsin receive in FY2025?

Wisconsin received a heavy absolute book of $113.0B in FY2025 ($19,169 per capita; population 5,893,718).

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

Wisconsin's $19,169 runs 22.7% above the $15,622 national average (rank #14 of 56).

What is the largest category of federal spending in Wisconsin?

The most common award type is direct payments, accounting for 86,540 awards (43.4% of tracked awards). The second-largest is contracts at 79,538 awards.

How many counties in Wisconsin receive federal spending?

72 counties in Wisconsin receive federal spending. The county receiving the most is Dane County with $54.4B.

How has federal spending in Wisconsin changed over time?

Federal spending in Wisconsin decreased by 10.4% from FY2020 ($126.0B) to FY2025 ($113.0B).

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

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