Maine vs Rhode Island
Federal spending comparison
Rhode Island’s stacked USAspending.gov obligation stock is $880.6M; Maine’s is $776.4M. Rhode Island posts the larger file on 1,112,308 residents against Maine’s 1,405,012, which is why spending per capita is $71.48 versus $35.09. Award volume runs the other way: Maine records 26,048 awards and Rhode Island 11,923. FY2026 follows the dollar ranking, $79.5M versus $49.3M. The figures are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- Rhode Island $880.6M vs Maine $776.4M in stacked USAspending obligations.
- Per capita $71.48 vs $35.09 on 1,112,308 vs 1,405,012 residents.
- Awards 26,048 in Maine vs 11,923 in Rhode Island; FY2026 $49.3M vs $79.5M.
- Top industries: other building equipment contractors in Maine; nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing in Rhode Island.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
A smaller New England state with the larger $880.6M stock
Rhode Island’s $880.6M stacked stock sits above Maine’s $776.4M even though Rhode Island’s Census count is 1,112,308 and Maine’s is 1,405,012. Intensity follows that inversion. $71.48 per capita in Rhode Island is about double Maine’s $35.09. Cite those packet ratios as stacked USAspending.gov obligations beside Census population, not as a restatement of the two headline stocks.
Award volume reverses the ranking. Maine’s 26,048 awards versus Rhode Island’s 11,923 is a much thicker action log on the smaller dollar file. Row count is not average award size. Do not divide $776.4M by 26,048 or $880.6M by 11,923. Cite USAspending.gov for both the dollar file and the award file.
Building-equipment contractors versus nonchocolate confectionery
Maine’s lead NAICS is other building equipment contractors. Rhode Island’s is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. A contractor peak is a construction-adjacent first read on Maine’s $776.4M mix. A confectionery peak is a food-manufacturing first read on Rhode Island’s $880.6M mix. Equipment installation and candy manufacturing are not the same label.
The 26,048 Maine awards and 11,923 Rhode Island awards include many actions outside those two industries. Use the Maine and Rhode Island state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not in the packet.
Full analysis: Maine vs Rhode Island on USAspending: $776.4M vs $880.6M →
Questions
- Does Maine or Rhode Island have more federal spending?
- Rhode Island leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $880.6M to Maine’s $776.4M, spending per capita $71.48 to $35.09, and FY2026 obligations $79.5M to $49.3M. Maine leads award volume 26,048 to 11,923. Population is 1,405,012 in Maine and 1,112,308 in Rhode Island.
- What industries lead in Maine and Rhode Island?
- Maine’s top industry is other building equipment contractors. Rhode Island’s is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $776.4M and $880.6M. Award counts are 26,048 in Maine and 11,923 in Rhode Island.
- Why is Rhode Island’s per-capita figure higher?
- The packet reports $71.48 per capita in Rhode Island on 1,112,308 residents and $35.09 in Maine on 1,405,012. Stacked stocks are $880.6M versus $776.4M. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations divided by Census population where present, not Treasury outlays per resident.
- Are Maine vs Rhode Island figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $776.4M and $880.6M totals, and FY2026 amounts of $49.3M and $79.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($35.09 vs $71.48) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays or average award size.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| Maine | Metric | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|
| $9.24B | Total Spending | $7.18B |
| $7K | Per Capita | $6K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 1.4M | Population | 1.1M |
| 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 — Maine
- Department of Defense$34.90B
- Department of Health and Human Services$25.72B
- Social Security Administration$21.93B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$3.27B
- Department of Agriculture$2.40B
Top Agencies — Rhode Island
- Department of Health and Human Services$19.76B
- Social Security Administration$14.98B
- Department of Defense$5.43B
- General Services Administration$1.84B
- Department of Transportation$1.77B
Top Industries — Maine
- SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$25.67B
- DIRECT HEALTH AND MEDICAL INSURANCE CARRIERS$4.61B
- OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$2.19B
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$690.4M
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$619.3M
Top Industries — Rhode Island
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$2.42B
- SEARCH, DETECTION, NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AERONAUTICAL, AND NAUTICAL SYSTEM AND INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURING$959.9M
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$326.5M
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$319.6M
- AMMUNITION (EXCEPT SMALL ARMS) MANUFACTURING$234.7M
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · Maine · Rhode Island