Arkansas vs Idaho

Similar intensity, different headcount

Many state pairs in this set invert: the smaller Census count posts the hotter per-capita ratio. Arkansas versus Idaho does not. The $85.06 and $80.33 readings sit within a few dollars of each other. Arkansas’s $1.7B versus Idaho’s $1.2B is mostly a population story—3,088,354 against 2,001,619—rather than a story about sharply different obligation intensity.

Award volume is the cut that is not similar. Arkansas records 79,590 awards; Idaho records 29,667. That thicker Arkansas action log sits on a larger stock and a nearly matched per-capita ratio. Row count is not average award size. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not invent a mean from 79,590 or 29,667.

Poultry processing versus building construction

Arkansas’s lead NAICS is poultry processing. Idaho’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those peaks sit on $1.7B and $1.2B. A processing peak versus a construction peak is mix, not a ranking. Poultry processing is a first read on Arkansas. Building construction is a first read on Idaho.

The 79,590 Arkansas awards and 29,667 Idaho awards include many actions outside those labels. Agency and recipient lists live on the Arkansas and Idaho state hubs. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not listed.

Idaho’s commercial and institutional building construction peak on $1.2B does not produce a hotter per-capita reading than Arkansas’s poultry-processing peak on $1.7B. The $80.33 and $85.06 ratios stay close. That is the point of this pair: mix differs, intensity does not differ much. Census counts of 2,001,619 and 3,088,354 still open the stacked-dollar gap. Cite USAspending.gov.

Questions

Does Arkansas or Idaho have more federal spending?

Arkansas leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $1.7B to Idaho’s $1.2B. Spending per capita is close: $85.06 versus $80.33 on 3,088,354 and 2,001,619 residents. Arkansas has more awards (79,590 vs 29,667). FY2026 obligations are $262.7M in Arkansas and $160.8M in Idaho. Arkansas also leads FY2026 ($262.7M vs $160.8M). Both series are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

Are Arkansas and Idaho similar on a per-capita basis?

Yes, relative to many other pairs. The packet reports $85.06 per capita in Arkansas and $80.33 in Idaho. Stacked stocks still differ ($1.7B vs $1.2B) because population differs (3,088,354 vs 2,001,619). These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. The $85.06 and $80.33 readings use Census population where present.

What industries lead in Arkansas and Idaho?

Arkansas’s top industry is poultry processing. Idaho’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $1.7B and $1.2B. Award counts are 79,590 in Arkansas and 29,667 in Idaho. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks on 79,590 and 29,667 awards.

Are Arkansas vs Idaho figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $1.7B and $1.2B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $262.7M and $160.8M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($85.06 vs $80.33) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays or average award size.