Colorado vs Connecticut

Nearly identical award files, different people

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. Colorado’s $8.1B stock sits $569 million above Connecticut’s $7.5B. Place of performance in the award file is the scoring rule. The unusual fact is the row count. Colorado logs 91,723 awards; Connecticut logs 94,990. On stocks this large, those files are effectively the same size.

Matched rows with unmatched people is the engine of the intensity gap. Colorado’s 5,957,493 residents exceed Connecticut’s 3,675,069. The same-order award files sit on different Census bases. Connecticut’s $7.5B on 94,990 actions and 3,675,069 people is a denser book than Colorado’s $8.1B on 91,723 actions and 5,957,493 people.

Colorado’s 91,723 awards and Connecticut’s 94,990 awards are the reason this pair is useful as an intensity comparison. $8,052,957,089 on 5,957,493 residents produces $97.34. $7,483,687,896 on 3,675,069 residents produces $266.81. FY2026 of $579,929,386 versus $980,534,818 is the recency cut that favors Connecticut. Chartered freight air versus aircraft parts is mix, not a full industrial map of either stock.

Connecticut’s $266.81 versus Colorado’s $97.34

Divide each obligation stock by Census population and Connecticut’s reading is $266.81 against Colorado’s $97.34. Intensity in Connecticut is more than 2.7 times Colorado’s. Colorado still leads stacked dollars. Intensity is not a restatement of the $8.1B versus $7.5B ranking.

A $266.81 per-person reading on 3,675,069 residents is an intensity fact attached to $7.5B, not a household check. Colorado’s $97.34 on 5,957,493 residents is attached to $8.1B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. Similar award counts can hide a wide per-resident split.

Questions

Which state has more federal spending, Colorado or Connecticut?

Colorado leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $8,052,957,089 versus Connecticut’s $7,483,687,896. Award counts are close (91,723 vs 94,990). Colorado has more people (5,957,493 vs 3,675,069). Spending per capita is $97.34 in Colorado and $266.81 in Connecticut. FY2026 obligations are $579.9M and $980.5M. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Are Colorado and Connecticut award counts similar?

Yes. Colorado logs 91,723 awards on $8.1B. Connecticut logs 94,990 awards on $7.5B. The files are nearly the same size in rows. Intensity is not: $97.34 versus $266.81. Populations are 5,957,493 and 3,675,069. FY2026 favors Connecticut ($980.5M vs $579.9M).

What industries lead Colorado and Connecticut federal awards?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Connecticut’s is other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing. Those slices sit on $8.1B and $7.5B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 91,723 in Colorado and 94,990 in Connecticut.

Are Colorado vs Connecticut figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $8.1B and $7.5B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $980.5M measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.