Louisiana vs North Carolina
Federal spending comparison
North Carolina accounts for $6.34B in USAspending.gov obligations; Louisiana accounts for $4.71B. North Carolina’s award file is enormous by comparison: 429,746 actions against Louisiana’s 72,577. Population follows the same direction, 11,046,024 versus 4,597,740. Intensity does not. Louisiana’s per-capita reading is $268.17; North Carolina’s is $66.77. FY2026 dollars also favor Louisiana, $1.23B versus $737.5M. Those amounts are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- North Carolina $6.34B vs Louisiana $4.71B in stacked USAspending obligations.
- Louisiana per capita $268.17 vs North Carolina $66.77 on 4,597,740 vs 11,046,024 residents.
- Awards: 72,577 vs 429,746; FY2026 $1.23B in Louisiana vs $737.5M in North Carolina.
- Top industries: ship building in Louisiana; pharmaceutical preparations in North Carolina.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
North Carolina’s busier file, Louisiana’s denser dollars
North Carolina’s $6.34B is about 1.35 times Louisiana’s $4.71B. Population is about 2.40 times: 11,046,024 versus 4,597,740. People outrun dollars, which is why North Carolina’s per-capita figure compresses to $66.77 while Louisiana’s expands to $268.17. The Gulf file carries more obligation per resident on a smaller stacked stock.
Award counts make the contrast starker. 429,746 North Carolina awards versus 72,577 Louisiana awards is about 5.9 times as many rows on only 1.35 times the dollars. North Carolina’s file is dense with actions. Louisiana’s 72,577 rows on $4.71B are fewer. The packet reports per capita against Census counts, not against those action totals.
Stacked dollars and award volume belong to North Carolina. Intensity belongs to Louisiana. FY2026, next, also belongs to Louisiana on dollars.
Ship building versus pharmaceutical preparations
Louisiana’s top industry is ship building and repairing. North Carolina’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those NAICS peaks sit on $4.71B and $6.34B. A shipyard lead is not a claim that every Louisiana award is a hull. A pharma lead is not a claim that every Carolina award is a tablet line.
The 72,577 Louisiana awards and 429,746 North Carolina awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the Louisiana and North Carolina state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.
Full analysis: Louisiana vs North Carolina on USAspending: $4.71B vs $6.34B →
Questions
- Does Louisiana or North Carolina have more federal spending?
- North Carolina leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $6.34B to Louisiana’s $4.71B. Louisiana leads spending per capita, $268.17 versus $66.77, on 4,597,740 residents against North Carolina’s 11,046,024. North Carolina has far more awards (429,746 vs 72,577). FY2026 obligations are $1.23B in Louisiana and $737.5M in North Carolina.
- Why is Louisiana’s per-capita federal spending higher?
- The packet reports $268.17 per capita in Louisiana on 4,597,740 residents and $66.77 in North Carolina on 11,046,024. North Carolina has more people and far more awards (429,746 vs 72,577). Stacked obligations are $4.71B versus $6.34B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
- What industries lead in Louisiana and North Carolina?
- Louisiana’s top industry is ship building and repairing. North Carolina’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $4.71B and $6.34B. Award counts are 72,577 in Louisiana and 429,746 in North Carolina.
- Are Louisiana vs North Carolina figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $4.71B and $6.34B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $1.23B and $737.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($268.17 vs $66.77) uses Census population against those obligations.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| Louisiana | Metric | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| $42.09B | Total Spending | $60.72B |
| $9K | Per Capita | $5K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 4.6M | Population | 11.0M |
| 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 — Louisiana
- Department of Health and Human Services$78.42B
- Social Security Administration$54.78B
- Department of Homeland Security$21.72B
- Department of Defense$19.37B
- Department of Agriculture$12.04B
Top Agencies — North Carolina
- Social Security Administration$140.77B
- Department of Health and Human Services$132.20B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$27.30B
- Department of Defense$24.88B
- Department of Agriculture$17.02B
Top Industries — Louisiana
- SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$9.58B
- OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$4.88B
- FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$3.06B
- GUIDED MISSILE AND SPACE VEHICLE PROPULSION UNIT AND PROPULSION UNIT PARTS MANUFACTURING$2.87B
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$1.76B
Top Industries — North Carolina
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$6.05B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$3.28B
- COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$2.30B
- OTHER WASTE COLLECTION$1.99B
- FOOD SERVICE CONTRACTORS$1.84B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · Louisiana · North Carolina