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Arkansas vs South Dakota

Federal spending comparison

Arkansas holds $1.7B in stacked USAspending.gov obligations; South Dakota holds $1.0B. Award volume is the extreme cut: 79,590 actions in Arkansas against 8,274 in South Dakota. Spending per capita stays close, $85.06 versus $79.92, on 3,088,354 residents versus 924,669. FY2026 obligations are $262.7M in Arkansas and $73.9M in South Dakota. Poultry processing leads Arkansas; electronic computer manufacturing leads South Dakota. The series is obligations, not outlays.

Key figures

  • Arkansas $1.7B vs South Dakota $1.0B in stacked USAspending obligations.
  • Per capita close: $85.06 vs $79.92 on 3,088,354 vs 924,669 residents.
  • Awards 79,590 vs 8,274; FY2026 $262.7M vs $73.9M.
  • Top industries: poultry processing in Arkansas; electronic computer manufacturing in South Dakota.
  • Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Nearly matched intensity, a lopsided award file

South Dakota’s $1.0B stacked stock against Arkansas’s $1.7B looks like a scale gap, and Census counts agree: 924,669 versus 3,088,354. Intensity does not. The $85.06 and $79.92 per-capita readings sit in a narrow band. This pair is closer on ratio than on dollars or rows.

Rows are not close. Arkansas’s 79,590 awards versus South Dakota’s 8,274 is the thickest-versus-thinnest contrast in this matchup. A thinner log on a $1.0B stock is consistent with a file that can post dollars without matching Arkansas’s action volume. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not invent average award size from 79,590 or 8,274.

Poultry processing versus electronic computer manufacturing

Arkansas’s lead NAICS is poultry processing. South Dakota’s is electronic computer manufacturing. A processing peak on $1.7B and a computer-manufacturing peak on $1.0B are different mixes. Poultry processing is a first read on Arkansas. Electronic computer manufacturing is a first read on South Dakota.

South Dakota’s 8,274 awards include many actions outside that computer-manufacturing label, just as Arkansas’s 79,590 awards extend beyond poultry processing. Use the Arkansas and South Dakota state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not listed.

Electronic computer manufacturing on South Dakota’s 8,274-award file is a concentrated mix label next to Arkansas poultry processing on 79,590 awards. The $1.0B versus $1.7B stocks still follow population of 924,669 versus 3,088,354 more than they follow the industry names. Per capita of $79.92 versus $85.06 stays close. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not collapse those NAICS peaks into a single manufacturing ranking.

Full analysis: Arkansas vs South Dakota on USAspending: $1.7B vs $1.0B

Questions

Does Arkansas or South Dakota have more federal spending?
Arkansas leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $1.7B to South Dakota’s $1.0B. Spending per capita is close: $85.06 versus $79.92 on 3,088,354 and 924,669 residents. Arkansas has far more awards (79,590 vs 8,274). FY2026 obligations are $262.7M in Arkansas and $73.9M in South Dakota.
Why does South Dakota have so few awards relative to Arkansas?
The packet reports 8,274 awards in South Dakota and 79,590 in Arkansas. Stacked stocks are $1.0B versus $1.7B. Award count is a row total, not average size. Population is 924,669 versus 3,088,354. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. Electronic computer manufacturing is the mix label on that thinner South Dakota log. Per capita remains close at $85.06 versus $79.92.
What industries lead in Arkansas and South Dakota?
Arkansas’s top industry is poultry processing. South Dakota’s is electronic computer manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $1.7B and $1.0B. Award counts are 79,590 in Arkansas and 8,274 in South Dakota. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks.
Are Arkansas vs South Dakota figures Treasury outlays?
No. The $1.7B and $1.0B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $262.7M and $73.9M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($85.06 vs $79.92) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays or average award size.

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

Side-by-side federal spending and demographic comparison between Arkansas and South Dakota.
ArkansasMetricSouth Dakota
$16.95BTotal Spending$5.43B
$5KPer Capita$6K
N/A% of GDPN/A
3.1MPopulation925K
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 — Arkansas

  • Social Security Administration$41.31B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$36.04B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$6.77B
  • Department of Agriculture$6.28B
  • Department of Transportation$4.28B

Top Agencies — South Dakota

  • Social Security Administration$11.65B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$9.00B
  • Department of Agriculture$3.30B
  • Department of the Treasury$2.72B
  • Department of Defense$2.57B

Top Industries — Arkansas

  • COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$1.09B
  • COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$1.01B
  • OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$578.2M
  • AMMUNITION (EXCEPT SMALL ARMS) MANUFACTURING$547.8M
  • ALL OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES$420.4M

Top Industries — South Dakota

  • COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$1.76B
  • OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$334.5M
  • COMPUTER FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES$219.2M
  • HIGHWAY, STREET, AND BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION$170.1M
  • ELECTRONIC COMPUTER MANUFACTURING$166.5M