Colorado vs North Carolina

Colorado’s dollars, North Carolina’s paperwork

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. Colorado’s $8.1B stock sits $1.7 billion above North Carolina’s $6.3B. Place of performance in the award file is the scoring rule. North Carolina has more people (11,046,024 versus 5,957,493) and far more awards (429,746 versus 91,723). Colorado still holds the larger dollar stock.

Colorado’s $8,052,957,089 sits on 91,723 records. North Carolina’s $6,340,179,185 is spread across 429,746. That is more than 4.6 North Carolina awards for each Colorado award. Dollars favor Colorado; paperwork volume favors North Carolina. The $8.1B versus $6.3B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.

Colorado’s 91,723 awards on $8,052,957,089 versus North Carolina’s 429,746 awards on $6,340,179,185 is a 4.6-to-1 paperwork split on a ranking that still favors Colorado in dollars. People of 5,957,493 versus 11,046,024 produce $97.34 versus $66.77. FY2026 of $579,929,386 versus $737,511,771 favors North Carolina. Chartered freight air versus pharmaceuticals is mix. A thinner file on a larger stock is a heavier typical booking.

Half the people, higher intensity

Colorado’s 5,957,493 residents against $8.1B produce $97.34 per capita. North Carolina’s 11,046,024 residents against $6.3B produce $66.77. Intensity favors Colorado even though North Carolina has nearly twice the people and a smaller stacked total.

A $97.34 per-person reading is an intensity fact attached to $8.1B, not a household check. North Carolina’s $66.77 is attached to $6.3B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. A thinner 91,723-award file on a larger stock is consistent with a heavier typical booking in Colorado.

Questions

Which state has more federal spending, Colorado or North Carolina?

Colorado leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $8,052,957,089 versus North Carolina’s $6,340,179,185. North Carolina has more awards (429,746 vs 91,723) and more people (11,046,024 vs 5,957,493). Spending per capita is $97.34 in Colorado and $66.77 in North Carolina. FY2026 obligations are $579.9M and $737.5M. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Does North Carolina outpace Colorado in FY2026?

Yes. FY2026 obligations are $737,511,771 in North Carolina versus $579,929,386 in Colorado. The stacked ranking still favors Colorado ($8.1B vs $6.3B). Award counts are 429,746 versus 91,723. Per capita is $66.77 versus $97.34. Populations are 11,046,024 and 5,957,493.

What industries lead Colorado and North Carolina federal awards?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. North Carolina’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those slices sit on $8.1B and $6.3B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 91,723 in Colorado and 429,746 in North Carolina.

Are Colorado vs North Carolina figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $8.1B and $6.3B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $737.5M measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.