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Colorado vs Texas

Federal spending comparison

Texas’s stacked USAspending.gov obligation stock is $72.7B; Colorado’s is $8.1B. Colorado files that smaller stock on only 91,723 awards against Texas’s 530,634. Population is 5,957,493 versus 31,290,831, and spending per capita is $97.34 versus $686.1. FY2026 is $579.9M in Colorado versus $21.5B in Texas. The figures are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Key figures

  • Texas $72.7B vs Colorado $8.1B in stacked USAspending obligations.
  • Per capita $686.1 vs $97.34 on 31,290,831 vs 5,957,493 residents.
  • Awards 530,634 vs 91,723; FY2026 $21.5B vs $579.9M.
  • Top industries: nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation in Colorado; pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing in Texas.
  • Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

An $8.1B Rocky Mountain file on 91,723 awards

Texas’s $72.7B stacked stock sits well above Colorado’s $8.1B. Census population leans Texas: 31,290,831 versus 5,957,493. Intensity follows. $686.1 per capita versus $97.34 is a wide gap. Cite those packet ratios beside the Census counts; they are not a second copy of $72.7B and $8.1B.

Award volume is thin on the Colorado side. 91,723 awards versus 530,634 is a much thinner action log. Row count is not average award size. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not invent a mean from 91,723 or 530,634.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air versus pharmaceutical preparation

Colorado’s lead NAICS is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Texas’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. A charter-freight-air peak is a first read on Colorado’s $8.1B mix. A drug-manufacturing peak is a first read on Texas’s $72.7B mix. Cargo flights and pharmaceuticals are not the same label.

The 91,723 Colorado awards and 530,634 Texas awards include many actions outside those two industries. Use the Colorado and Texas state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not in the packet.

Colorado’s 91,723 awards and $579.9M FY2026 slice sit on 5,957,493 residents. Texas’s 530,634 awards and $21.5B sit on 31,290,831. Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing remains the mix contrast on $8.1B and $72.7B. $97.34 versus $686.1 is the intensity ranking. Cite USAspending.gov.

Full analysis: Colorado vs Texas on USAspending: $8.1B vs $72.7B →

Questions

Does Colorado or Texas have more federal spending?
Texas leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $72.7B to Colorado’s $8.1B, spending per capita $686.1 to $97.34, awards 530,634 to 91,723, and FY2026 obligations $21.5B to $579.9M. Population is 5,957,493 in Colorado and 31,290,831 in Texas.
What industries lead in Colorado and Texas?
Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Texas’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $8.1B and $72.7B. Award counts are 91,723 in Colorado and 530,634 in Texas.
Is Colorado’s award count thin relative to its dollar file?
Colorado records 91,723 awards on an $8.1B stacked stock. Texas records 530,634 awards on $72.7B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. Row count is not average award size. The packet does not publish a mean.
Are Colorado vs Texas figures Treasury outlays?
No. The $8.1B and $72.7B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $21.5B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($97.34 vs $686.1) 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 Colorado and Texas.
ColoradoMetricTexas
$27.81BTotal Spending$147.74B
$5KPer Capita$5K
N/A% of GDPN/A
6.0MPopulation31.3M
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 — Colorado

  • Department of Defense$63.98B
  • Social Security Administration$61.96B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$57.66B
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration$22.31B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$15.38B

Top Agencies — Texas

  • Department of Defense$483.10B
  • Social Security Administration$284.97B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$218.33B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$107.92B
  • Department of Homeland Security$55.28B

Top Industries — Colorado

  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES$15.76B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY$10.31B
  • NONSCHEDULED CHARTERED FREIGHT AIR TRANSPORTATION$10.08B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$9.18B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)$9.12B

Top Industries — Texas

  • AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$299.18B
  • GUIDED MISSILE AND SPACE VEHICLE MANUFACTURING$62.54B
  • OTHER AIRCRAFT PARTS AND AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING$29.46B
  • PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATION MANUFACTURING$29.13B
  • COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$26.71B