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Alabama vs Hawaii

Federal spending comparison

Alabama accounts for $7.68B in USAspending.gov obligations; Hawaii accounts for $4.09B. Alabama also leads on awards (161,254 vs 75,796) and on population (5,157,699 vs 1,446,146). Hawaii leads on intensity: $196.71 per capita against Alabama’s $116.81. Both states list commercial and institutional building construction as the top industry. FY2026 obligations are $602.5M in Alabama and $284.5M in Hawaii. Those amounts are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Key figures

  • Alabama $7.68B vs Hawaii $4.09B in stacked USAspending obligations.
  • Hawaii per capita $196.71 vs Alabama $116.81 on 1,446,146 vs 5,157,699 residents.
  • Awards: 161,254 vs 75,796; FY2026 $602.5M vs $284.5M.
  • Both states’ top industry is commercial and institutional building construction.
  • Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Alabama’s $7.68B versus an island file with a hotter ratio

Alabama’s $7.68B is about 1.88 times Hawaii’s $4.09B. Population is about 3.57 times: 5,157,699 versus 1,446,146. People outrun dollars, which is why Hawaii still leads per capita, $196.71 versus $116.81. A smaller stacked stock on a much smaller Census count can still look denser per resident.

Award counts sit between those two ratios. Alabama’s 161,254 awards are about 2.13 times Hawaii’s 75,796. The Gulf file is busier, but not by as much as population. Hawaii’s 75,796 actions on $4.09B still support the higher per-person figure because the denominator is only 1,446,146 residents.

Alabama therefore takes stacked dollars, award rows, population, and the latest fiscal year. Hawaii takes the intensity ranking. A shared construction label does not erase that split.

The same construction lead on two different scales

Alabama’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Hawaii’s top industry is the same label. A shared NAICS peak does not make the files identical. It means federal building work is the largest slice on $7.68B in Alabama and on $4.09B in Hawaii. The 161,254 Alabama awards and 75,796 Hawaii awards still include many actions that are not buildings.

Construction can be lumpy in both places. Use the Alabama and Hawaii state hubs for agencies and recipients rather than treating the construction tag as the entire mix. The shared lead is a first filter, not a finding that the two states buy the same work in the same amounts.

Full analysis: Alabama vs Hawaii on USAspending: $7.68B vs $4.09B

Questions

Does Alabama or Hawaii have more federal spending?
Alabama leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $7.68B to Hawaii’s $4.09B. Hawaii leads spending per capita, $196.71 versus $116.81, on 1,446,146 residents against Alabama’s 5,157,699. Alabama has more awards (161,254 vs 75,796). FY2026 obligations are $602.5M in Alabama and $284.5M in Hawaii.
Why does Hawaii show more obligations per person?
The packet reports $196.71 per capita in Hawaii on 1,446,146 residents and $116.81 in Alabama on 5,157,699. Alabama has more people and more awards (161,254 vs 75,796). Stacked obligations are $7.68B versus $4.09B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
Do Alabama and Hawaii have different top industries?
No. Both list commercial and institutional building construction as the top industry. The comparison is scale and intensity on $7.68B versus $4.09B, not a different lead NAICS. Award counts are 161,254 in Alabama and 75,796 in Hawaii.
Are Alabama vs Hawaii figures Treasury outlays?
No. The $7.68B and $4.09B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $602.5M and $284.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($116.81 vs $196.71) uses Census population against those obligations.

State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.

Side-by-side federal spending and demographic comparison between Alabama and Hawaii.
AlabamaMetricHawaii
$28.31BTotal Spending$7.87B
$5KPer Capita$5K
N/A% of GDPN/A
5.2MPopulation1.4M
N/AMedian IncomeN/A
N/APoverty RateN/A
N/ABachelor Degree %N/A
N/AMedian AgeN/A
N/AUnemploymentN/A
N/AGDP (Millions)N/A

Top Agencies — Alabama

  • Department of Defense$125.69B
  • Social Security Administration$69.72B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$46.27B
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration$19.27B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$13.75B

Top Agencies — Hawaii

  • Department of Defense$20.74B
  • Social Security Administration$18.26B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$14.07B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$3.43B
  • General Services Administration$2.99B

Top Industries — Alabama

  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)$20.73B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES$18.78B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$17.30B
  • GUIDED MISSILE AND SPACE VEHICLE MANUFACTURING$16.46B
  • SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$14.89B

Top Industries — Hawaii

  • COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$5.19B
  • ENGINEERING SERVICES$4.26B
  • OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$3.57B
  • SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$1.26B
  • FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$1.11B