Data Methodology & Editorial Standards

Data Source

All federal spending data on SpendByCounty comes from USASpending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury, FY2024 (October 2023 – September 2024). USASpending.gov is the official open data source for federal spending, created under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) of 2014. It aggregates contract and grant obligations from federal agencies across the U.S. government.

We use the county-level place-of-performance data to attribute spending to specific geographic areas. When a contract or grant lists a county as the primary place of performance, that obligation is counted toward that county's total.

Specific Data Elements Used

• Contract obligations — Purchases of goods and services by federal agencies
• Grant obligations — Awards to state/local governments, universities, nonprofits, and other organizations
• Other federal obligations — Direct payments and other reported spending
• County population — U.S. Census Bureau estimates for per-capita calculations

Metrics Displayed

Each county page on SpendByCounty presents the following federal spending metrics:

• Total Federal Spending — The sum of all contract, grant, and other federal obligations attributed to the county in FY2024.
• Per-Capita Federal Spending — Total federal spending divided by county population, showing the federal investment per resident.
• Spending by Agency — Breakdown of which federal agencies account for the largest share of spending in the county.
• Contracts vs. Grants — The split between contract obligations (goods and services) and grant obligations (awards to governments and organizations).
• State and National Comparisons — How the county ranks against its state peers and the national average.

How Metrics Are Calculated

Most metrics are computed from USASpending.gov data with the following methodology:

• Per-capita spending is calculated by dividing total federal obligations by the county population from the most recent Census estimates.
• State and national comparisons are computed by ranking each county against its state peers and the full national dataset.
• Agency breakdowns use the awarding agency reported in USASpending.gov, grouped at the department level (e.g., Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services).

All figures should be treated as estimates. USASpending data is subject to reporting delays, corrections, and geographic attribution challenges. Not all federal spending can be mapped to a specific county.

Geographic Coverage

SpendByCounty covers 3,100+ counties and county-equivalents across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This includes counties, parishes (Louisiana), boroughs (Alaska), and independent cities (Virginia). Coverage is limited by USASpending.gov data availability — a small number of very low-population areas may have minimal or no attributed federal spending.

Data Freshness

The current dataset uses USASpending.gov FY2024 data, covering federal obligations from October 2023 through September 2024. This is the most recent complete fiscal year available at the time of publication. We update our data when new USASpending.gov releases become available, typically once per year.

Because federal spending can include multi-year contracts and delayed grant disbursements, the FY2024 snapshot may not capture all spending that will eventually be attributed to a county. We recommend supplementing our data with current USASpending.gov searches for time-sensitive decisions.

AI-Generated Content

Some descriptive text on SpendByCounty — including county narrative summaries, comparative descriptions, and editorial articles — is generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (Claude by Anthropic). All AI-generated content is reviewed for accuracy and grounded in the underlying USASpending.gov data.

The raw data, metrics, and rankings displayed on this site are sourced directly from USASpending.gov and are not AI-generated. AI assistance is used only for prose descriptions and contextual commentary.

Limitations and Disclaimers

• All data is informational only and should not be treated as financial, legal, or investment advice.
• Some federal spending is uncountied — obligations may be reported at the state or national level without county-level attribution.
• Federal obligations represent commitments, not necessarily actual outlays. A contract awarded in FY2024 may be paid out over multiple years.
• Prime recipient data does not always capture sub-recipients. A grant to a state government may be distributed to multiple counties in ways not visible in USASpending.gov.
• We encourage users to verify important decisions with USASpending.gov and relevant federal agencies.

Questions or Corrections

If you have questions about our methodology or notice a data discrepancy, please contact us. We welcome feedback and data correction requests.