Iowa vs New Mexico
Federal spending comparison
New Mexico accounts for $3.93B in USAspending.gov obligations; Iowa accounts for $3.84B. The stacked stocks are a near-tie. Intensity is not. New Mexico’s spending per capita is $945.82 on 2,130,256 residents; Iowa’s is $127.17 on 3,241,488. Award counts favor Iowa, 48,706 to 19,233. FY2026 dollars favor New Mexico, $2.01B versus $412.2M. Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing; New Mexico’s is commercial and institutional building construction. The figures are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- New Mexico $3.93B vs Iowa $3.84B in stacked USAspending obligations.
- New Mexico per capita $945.82 vs Iowa $127.17 on 2,130,256 vs 3,241,488 residents.
- Awards: 48,706 vs 19,233; FY2026 $412.2M vs $2.01B.
- Top industries: wireless communications equipment in Iowa; commercial construction in New Mexico.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
Two $3.8–$3.9B files, one outlier ratio
New Mexico’s $3.93B is about 1.02 times Iowa’s $3.84B. Population runs the other way: Iowa’s 3,241,488 versus New Mexico’s 2,130,256, about 1.52 times. The stacked race is a rounding error. The per-capita pair of $945.82 versus $127.17 is not. Cite those ratios as packet figures beside the Census counts.
Award counts belong to Iowa, 48,706 versus 19,233. Iowa’s file is busier in rows on a slightly smaller stock. New Mexico’s 19,233 actions on $3.93B are fewer and still sit beside the $945.82 reading.
FY2026 then leaves the near-tie behind. $2.01B in New Mexico versus $412.2M in Iowa is the recency ranking that matches intensity, not the stacked stock.
Wireless equipment in Iowa, construction in New Mexico
Iowa’s lead NAICS is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. New Mexico’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. Those peaks sit on $3.84B and $3.93B. A wireless-equipment lead is a first filter on the Iowa mix; a construction lead is a first filter on the New Mexico mix.
The 48,706 Iowa awards and 19,233 New Mexico awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the Iowa and New Mexico state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.
Full analysis: Iowa vs New Mexico on USAspending: $3.84B vs $3.93B →
Questions
- Does Iowa or New Mexico have more federal spending?
- New Mexico leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.93B to Iowa’s $3.84B. New Mexico also leads spending per capita, $945.82 versus $127.17, on 2,130,256 residents against Iowa’s 3,241,488. Iowa has more awards (48,706 vs 19,233). FY2026 obligations are $412.2M in Iowa and $2.01B in New Mexico.
- Why is New Mexico’s per-capita figure so much higher than Iowa’s?
- The packet reports $945.82 per capita in New Mexico on 2,130,256 residents and $127.17 in Iowa on 3,241,488. Stacked stocks are close ($3.93B vs $3.84B). FY2026 obligations are $2.01B versus $412.2M. Award counts are 19,233 versus 48,706. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
- What industries lead in Iowa and New Mexico?
- Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. New Mexico’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.84B and $3.93B. Award counts are 48,706 in Iowa and 19,233 in New Mexico.
- Are Iowa vs New Mexico figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $3.84B and $3.93B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $412.2M and $2.01B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($127.17 vs $945.82) uses Census population where present.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| Iowa | Metric | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| $16.45B | Total Spending | $19.40B |
| $5K | Per Capita | $9K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 3.2M | Population | 2.1M |
| N/A | Median Income | N/A |
| N/A | Poverty Rate | N/A |
| N/A | Bachelor Degree % | N/A |
| N/A | Median Age | N/A |
| N/A | Unemployment | N/A |
| N/A | GDP (Millions) | N/A |
Top Agencies — Iowa
- Social Security Administration$42.07B
- Department of Health and Human Services$31.54B
- Department of Defense$15.44B
- Department of Agriculture$9.48B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$4.32B
Top Agencies — New Mexico
- Department of Energy$185.29B
- Department of Health and Human Services$40.14B
- Social Security Administration$27.25B
- Department of Defense$9.29B
- Department of Agriculture$6.62B
Top Industries — Iowa
- OTHER COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING$2.56B
- AMMUNITION (EXCEPT SMALL ARMS) MANUFACTURING$2.47B
- RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING$2.13B
- SEARCH, DETECTION, NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AERONAUTICAL, AND NAUTICAL SYSTEM AND INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURING$1.58B
- AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$1.40B
Top Industries — New Mexico
- FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$148.95B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES$35.52B
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$3.50B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$1.69B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$1.21B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · Iowa · New Mexico