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Georgia vs Virginia

Federal spending comparison

Georgia shows $9.7B in federal obligations on USAspending.gov, against Virginia’s $110.8B. Georgia has more people — 11,180,878 versus 8,811,195 — and a much thinner obligation stock. FY 2026 is the latest year in the pair. Figures are obligations, not Treasury outlays Georgia’s 278,028 awards and $95.66 per capita compare with Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards and $1,344.24 per capita. Aircraft manufacturing leads Georgia’s mix.

Key figures

  • Georgia $9.7B vs Virginia $110.8B in USAspending obligations.
  • Georgia has more people (11,180,878 vs 8,811,195) and lower per-capita ($95.66 vs $1,344.24).
  • Awards: 278,028 (GA) vs 1,116,647 (VA).
  • Top industries: aircraft manufacturing vs other computer related services.
  • FY 2026 latest year; obligations, not outlays.

A larger Southern state, a smaller federal ledger

Georgia outpopulates Virginia and still records less than one-tenth of Virginia’s $110.8B. $9.7B is a real federal book; it is not a Virginia-class book. USAspending.gov place-of-performance, not a ranking of Southern economies, is what this row measures. High-dollar services work coded to Virginia dominates the comparison.

Georgia versus Virginia is also a neighbor-region matchup in a loose sense — South Atlantic states — without being a Beltway pair like Maryland–Virginia. The dollar gap is still the Beltway pattern: contractor-hub stock on one side, a large state with a smaller recorded federal footprint on the other.

Georgia’s 11,180,878 residents exceed Virginia’s 8,811,195, so any story that starts “Virginia is bigger” is false on population and true only on the federal award ledger. $9.7B versus $110.8B is the ledger story. USAspending.gov place-of-performance, not a ranking of Southern metros, is the measurement.

Aircraft manufacturing, again, versus computer-related services

Georgia’s top industry is aircraft manufacturing, the same leading description Missouri carries in this batch, on a slightly smaller $9.7B stock versus Missouri’s $10.4B. Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Airframes versus IT services is the industry contrast.

Georgia’s award count is 278,028 against Virginia’s 1,116,647. A manufacturing lead often sits on fewer actions than a services-modification market. This page does not claim a percentage of Georgia’s $9.7B is aircraft work; top industry is the largest slice only.

Aircraft manufacturing as Georgia’s top industry matches Missouri’s leading description. Georgia’s $9.7B sits just below Missouri’s $10.4B, with 278,028 awards versus Missouri’s 300,867 — a nearby goods-state profile, still far below Virginia’s $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. This page does not merge the two aircraft states; it reports Georgia versus Virginia.

Full analysis: Georgia vs Virginia on USAspending →

Questions

Does Georgia have more federal spending than Virginia?
No. Georgia shows $9.7B in USAspending obligations; Virginia shows $110.8B. Georgia has more residents, 11,180,878 versus 8,811,195. Totals are obligations, not Treasury outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.
What is Georgia’s top federal industry vs Virginia?
Georgia’s top industry is aircraft manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those NAICS descriptions are the leading slices in SpendingVault’s aggregates, not a complete list of either state’s federal awards. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.
What is Georgia’s federal spending per capita compared with Virginia?
Georgia’s spending per capita is $95.66. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Both divide USAspending obligations by Census population (11,180,878 and 8,811,195). Per-capita is a scaling statistic, not a payment to residents. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.
How many federal awards are in Georgia vs Virginia?
Georgia has 278,028 awards in this aggregate; Virginia has 1,116,647. Award counts include contracts, grants, and modifications. Virginia also leads on dollars, $110.8B versus Georgia’s $9.7B. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

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

Side-by-side federal spending and demographic comparison between Georgia and Virginia.
GeorgiaMetricVirginia
$48.93BTotal Spending$68.13B
$4KPer Capita$8K
N/A% of GDPN/A
11.2MPopulation8.8M
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 — Georgia

  • Social Security Administration$120.90B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$89.19B
  • Department of Defense$42.51B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$25.38B
  • Department of Agriculture$20.00B

Top Agencies — Virginia

  • Department of Defense$325.98B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$147.16B
  • Social Security Administration$106.40B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$103.76B
  • Small Business Administration$33.43B

Top Industries — Georgia

  • AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$13.98B
  • COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$4.72B
  • ENGINEERING SERVICES$4.68B
  • FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$4.07B
  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$3.45B

Top Industries — Virginia

  • COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$72.99B
  • SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$69.56B
  • DIRECT HEALTH AND MEDICAL INSURANCE CARRIERS$61.44B
  • ENGINEERING SERVICES$60.92B
  • OTHER COMPUTER RELATED SERVICES$38.52B