Iowa vs Virginia
Federal spending comparison
Iowa’s federal obligation total on USAspending.gov is $3.8B. Virginia’s is $110.8B. Iowa is a midsize state with 3,241,488 residents; Virginia has 8,811,195. Spending per capita lands at $127.17 versus $1,344.24. The hardware-and-broadcast manufacturing slice that leads Iowa’s file is a different federal customer than the computer-services slice that leads Virginia’s. Wireless-equipment manufacturing as Iowa’s largest industry slice sits on 48,706 awards; that hardware mix is the fact that keeps this pair from reading as a generic small-state-versus-Virginia note.
Key figures
- Iowa $3.8B vs Virginia $110.8B in USAspending obligations.
- Per capita $127.17 vs $1,344.24 (populations 3,241,488 and 8,811,195).
- Awards 48,706 vs 1,116,647; FY2026 $412.2M vs $11.8B.
- Iowa’s top industry is wireless communications equipment manufacturing; Virginia’s is other computer related services.
- Comparison uses obligations from USAspending.gov, not Treasury outlays.
Dollar stock: Iowa’s $3.8B against Virginia’s $110.8B
SpendingVault compares USAspending.gov obligations, the amounts agencies commit on awards, not Treasury outlays. Iowa’s $3.8B is a real file. It is also about 3 percent of Virginia’s $110.8B. Anyone scanning a national map will see Virginia as a high-obligation state and Iowa as a modest one in this pairing.
Award counts widen that impression. Iowa shows 48,706 awards; Virginia shows 1,116,647. Iowa’s actions are not rare, but they do not approach the volume of the Virginia contractor base. The comparison is a scale mismatch more than a photo finish.
Population cannot explain a $127 vs $1,344 per-capita gap
Virginia has more people — 8,811,195 versus 3,241,488 — roughly 2.7 times Iowa’s Census count. Obligations are about 29 times Iowa’s $3.8B. That leftover gap shows up as $1,344.24 per capita in Virginia and $127.17 in Iowa.
If federal awards tracked population alone, Iowa would not sit in the low hundreds of dollars per resident while Virginia sits above a thousand. The per-capita column is the short proof that Iowa’s obligation intensity, in this dataset, is far below Virginia’s.
Full analysis: Iowa vs Virginia on USAspending: $3.8B next to $110.8B →
Questions
- How much has the federal government obligated in Iowa vs Virginia?
- Iowa shows $3.8B in USAspending.gov obligations and Virginia shows $110.8B. Award counts are 48,706 and 1,116,647. Spending per capita is $127.17 versus $1,344.24 using Census populations of 3,241,488 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $412.2M and $11.8B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.
- What industry leads federal awards in Iowa compared with Virginia?
- Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Those are the largest industry slices on top of $3.8B and $110.8B in obligations. They do not describe every award in either state.
- Why is Iowa’s per-capita federal spending so much lower?
- Iowa’s $127.17 per capita uses $3.8B in obligations and 3,241,488 residents. Virginia’s $1,344.24 uses $110.8B and 8,811,195 residents. Population differs by a factor of about 2.7; obligations differ by much more. The per-capita gap is the remainder after headcount is taken out.
- Is the Iowa vs Virginia comparison based on outlays?
- No. It uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments tracked separately by Treasury. An obligation of $3.8B (Iowa) or $110.8B (Virginia) can pay out over more than one fiscal year. FY2026 figures of $412.2M and $11.8B are also obligations for that year, not checks issued.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
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 — 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 — 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 — 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
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · Iowa · Virginia