Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania
Federal spending comparison
Pennsylvania accounts for $28.1B in USAspending.gov obligations; Massachusetts accounts for $13.5B. Massachusetts leads spending per capita, $364.70 on 7,136,171 residents versus $239.68 on 13,078,751. Award counts heavily favor Pennsylvania, 1,468,918 to 294,824. Massachusetts’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing; Pennsylvania’s is medicinal and botanical manufacturing. FY2026 obligations are $2.6B and $3.1B — closer in the latest year than in the stacked stock. Massachusetts’s 294,824 awards versus Pennsylvania’s 1,468,918 awards are the row gap under $13.5B versus $28.1B.
Key figures
- Massachusetts $13.5B vs Pennsylvania $28.1B in USAspending obligations.
- Per capita $364.70 vs $239.68 on 7,136,171 vs 13,078,751 residents.
- Awards: 294,824 vs 1,468,918; FY2026 $2.6B vs $3.1B.
- Top industries: aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing (MA) vs medicinal and botanical manufacturing (PA).
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
Pennsylvania’s $28.1B vs Massachusetts’s $13.5B
Spending per capita is $364.70 in Massachusetts and $239.68 in Pennsylvania. That intensity ranking does not have to match the stacked dollar ranking of $13.5B versus $28.1B. When people (7,136,171 vs 13,078,751) diverge faster or slower than obligations, per capita flips. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays. Cash payments can lag award dates. Headquarters can differ from the state coded on the award.
Pennsylvania wins stock and rows; Massachusetts wins intensity; FY2026 is the closest dollar cut ($2.6B vs $3.1B). Intensity is stacked obligations divided by Census counts. It is not FY2026 alone. It is not GDP. It is not a household check.
Aircraft engines vs medicinal manufacturing
Award counts are 294,824 in Massachusetts and 1,468,918 in Pennsylvania. Rows can follow dollars, follow people, or follow neither. A flip pair often shows that third path. Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing versus medicinal and botanical manufacturing is a propulsion-versus-pharma-adjacent split. Pennsylvania’s 1,468,918 awards dwarf Massachusetts’s 294,824 even though per capita runs the other way.
Massachusetts’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. Pennsylvania’s top industry is medicinal and botanical manufacturing. Mix can help explain a heavier typical action, but it does not compute $364.70 or $239.68. Those ratios are arithmetic on $13.5B, $28.1B, 7,136,171, and 13,078,751.
Full analysis: Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania on USAspending: $13.5B vs $28.1B →
Questions
- Which has more federal spending, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania?
- Massachusetts shows $13.5B in USAspending.gov obligations; Pennsylvania shows $28.1B. Award counts are 294,824 and 1,468,918. Populations are 7,136,171 and 13,078,751. Spending per capita is $364.70 versus $239.68. FY2026 obligations are $2.6B and $3.1B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
- What industries lead Massachusetts and Pennsylvania federal awards?
- Massachusetts’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. Pennsylvania’s top industry is medicinal and botanical manufacturing. Those slices sit on $13.5B and $28.1B in USAspending.gov obligations and on 294,824 versus 1,468,918 awards. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award.
- How do Massachusetts and Pennsylvania compare on spending per capita?
- Spending per capita is $364.70 in Massachusetts on 7,136,171 residents and $239.68 in Pennsylvania on 13,078,751 residents. Those ratios use stacked USAspending.gov obligations of $13.5B and $28.1B, not FY2026 alone and not GDP. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
- Are Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $13.5B and $28.1B stacked totals, and FY2026 amounts of $2.6B and $3.1B, are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Award counts are 294,824 and 1,468,918. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| Massachusetts | Metric | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| $43.05B | Total Spending | $123.59B |
| $6K | Per Capita | $9K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 7.1M | Population | 13.1M |
| 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 — Massachusetts
- Department of Health and Human Services$138.54B
- Department of Defense$112.05B
- Social Security Administration$86.41B
- General Services Administration$13.54B
- Department of Agriculture$11.34B
Top Agencies — Pennsylvania
- Department of Health and Human Services$489.40B
- Social Security Administration$184.58B
- Department of Defense$124.00B
- Department of Agriculture$22.57B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$17.67B
Top Industries — Massachusetts
- SEARCH, DETECTION, NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AERONAUTICAL, AND NAUTICAL SYSTEM AND INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURING$30.64B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)$17.15B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$16.64B
- AIRCRAFT ENGINE AND ENGINE PARTS MANUFACTURING$7.61B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$4.93B
Top Industries — Pennsylvania
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$29.49B
- POWER BOILER AND HEAT EXCHANGER MANUFACTURING$17.61B
- AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$17.42B
- MILITARY ARMORED VEHICLE, TANK, AND TANK COMPONENT MANUFACTURING$11.80B
- MEDICINAL AND BOTANICAL MANUFACTURING$11.30B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · Massachusetts · Pennsylvania