Hawaii vs Washington

A Pacific stock gap with an island intensity lead

Washington’s $7.34B is about 1.79 times Hawaii’s $4.09B. Population is about 5.50 times: 7,958,180 versus 1,446,146. People outrun dollars by a wide margin, which is why Hawaii’s per-capita figure of $196.71 beats Washington’s $73.46. The island file is smaller on every stock measure and denser on the one ratio that divides dollars by residents.

Award counts track Washington’s scale: 236,821 versus 75,796, about 3.1 times. That is more rows than the dollar multiple and fewer rows than the population multiple. Washington’s file is busy. Hawaii’s 75,796 actions on $4.09B still produce the higher per-person reading because the Census denominator is only 1,446,146.

Unlike some pairs, FY2026 does not hand Hawaii a dollar reversal. $584.6M in Washington versus $284.5M in Hawaii keeps the latest-year ranking with the stacked stock.

Shared construction peaks on two Pacific files

Hawaii’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Washington’s top industry is the same label. A shared NAICS peak means federal building work is the largest slice on $4.09B in Hawaii and on $7.34B in Washington. It does not mean the two files buy the same buildings, from the same agencies, in the same amounts.

Construction can be lumpy. The 75,796 Hawaii awards and 236,821 Washington awards include many actions that are not buildings. Use the Hawaii and Washington state hubs for agencies and recipients rather than treating the construction tag as the entire mix.

Questions

Does Hawaii or Washington have more federal spending?

Washington leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $7.34B to Hawaii’s $4.09B. Hawaii leads spending per capita, $196.71 versus $73.46, on 1,446,146 residents against Washington’s 7,958,180. Washington has more awards (236,821 vs 75,796). FY2026 obligations are $284.5M in Hawaii and $584.6M in Washington.

Why is Hawaii’s per-capita federal spending higher than Washington’s?

The packet reports $196.71 per capita in Hawaii on 1,446,146 residents and $73.46 in Washington on 7,958,180. Washington has more people and more awards (236,821 vs 75,796). Stacked obligations are $4.09B versus $7.34B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

Do Hawaii and Washington have the same top industry?

Yes. Both list commercial and institutional building construction as the top industry. The comparison is scale and intensity on $4.09B versus $7.34B, not a different lead NAICS. Award counts are 75,796 in Hawaii and 236,821 in Washington.

Are Hawaii vs Washington figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $4.09B and $7.34B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $284.5M and $584.6M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($196.71 vs $73.46) uses Census population against those obligations.