Does Montana or Rhode Island have more federal spending?

Stacked USAspending.gov obligations are $1.2B in Montana and $880.6M in Rhode Island. Spending per capita is $187.18 versus $71.48 on 1,137,233 and 1,112,308 residents. Award counts are 21,487 versus 11,923. FY2026 obligations are $212.9M in Montana and $79.5M in Rhode Island. Both dollar series are obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in Montana and Rhode Island?

Montana's top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Rhode Island's is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $1.2B and $880.6M. Award counts are 21,487 in Montana and 11,923 in Rhode Island. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks on USAspending.gov obligation files.

How do Montana and Rhode Island compare on a per-capita basis?

The packet reports $187.18 per capita in Montana on 1,137,233 residents and $71.48 in Rhode Island on 1,112,308 residents. Stacked stocks are $1.2B versus $880.6M. Award counts are 21,487 versus 11,923. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. FY2026 amounts are $212.9M versus $79.5M.

Are Montana vs Rhode Island figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $1.2B and $880.6M totals, and FY2026 amounts of $212.9M and $79.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag behind commitments. Spending per capita ($187.18 vs $71.48) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays.

Montana vs Rhode Island

Federal spending comparison

Montana’s stacked USAspending.gov obligation stock is $1.2B; Rhode Island’s is $880.6M. Census population is a near match: 1,137,233 in Montana and 1,112,308 in Rhode Island. Intensity is not a match. Montana’s $187.18 per capita more than doubles Rhode Island’s $71.48. Award counts are 21,487 versus 11,923. FY2026 obligations are $212.9M versus $79.5M. Commercial and institutional building construction leads Montana; nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing leads Rhode Island. The figures are obligations, not outlays.

Key figures

Montana $1.2B vs Rhode Island $880.6M in stacked USAspending obligations.
Per capita $187.18 vs $71.48 on 1,137,233 vs 1,112,308 residents.
Awards 21,487 vs 11,923; FY2026 $212.9M vs $79.5M.
Top industries: commercial and institutional building construction in Montana; nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing in Rhode Island.
Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Similar headcount, unmatched construction-versus-confectionery intensity

Montana and Rhode Island sit within about 25,000 people of each other. That is close enough to make per capita the honest ranking. Montana’s $187.18 versus Rhode Island’s $71.48 is that ranking. The $1.2B versus $880.6M stocks follow intensity, not a hidden Census gap. Cite USAspending.gov.

Award volume favors Montana, 21,487 versus 11,923, without a large population excuse. Rhode Island’s confectionery peak sits on the cooler ratio and the smaller stock. Row count is not average award size. Do not invent a mean from 21,487 or 11,923.

FY2026 of $212.9M versus $79.5M follows Montana. Recency agrees with intensity. Treat both amounts as obligation slices. Outlays are omitted.

Building construction versus nonchocolate confectionery

Montana’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. Rhode Island’s is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. A construction peak on $1.2B and a confectionery peak on $880.6M are different mixes on similar Census counts.

Use the Montana and Rhode Island state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not listed. Similar population does not make those labels interchangeable.

Full analysis: Montana vs Rhode Island on USAspending: $1.2B vs $880.6M →

Questions

Does Montana or Rhode Island have more federal spending?: Stacked USAspending.gov obligations are $1.2B in Montana and $880.6M in Rhode Island. Spending per capita is $187.18 versus $71.48 on 1,137,233 and 1,112,308 residents. Award counts are 21,487 versus 11,923. FY2026 obligations are $212.9M in Montana and $79.5M in Rhode Island. Both dollar series are obligations, not outlays.
What industries lead in Montana and Rhode Island?: Montana's top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Rhode Island's is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $1.2B and $880.6M. Award counts are 21,487 in Montana and 11,923 in Rhode Island. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks on USAspending.gov obligation files.
How do Montana and Rhode Island compare on a per-capita basis?: The packet reports $187.18 per capita in Montana on 1,137,233 residents and $71.48 in Rhode Island on 1,112,308 residents. Stacked stocks are $1.2B versus $880.6M. Award counts are 21,487 versus 11,923. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. FY2026 amounts are $212.9M versus $79.5M.
Are Montana vs Rhode Island figures Treasury outlays?: No. The $1.2B and $880.6M totals, and FY2026 amounts of $212.9M and $79.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag behind commitments. Spending per capita ($187.18 vs $71.48) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays.

State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.

Side-by-side federal spending and demographic comparison between Montana and Rhode Island.
Montana	Metric	Rhode Island
$7.34B	Total Spending	$7.18B
$6K	Per Capita	$6K
N/A	% of GDP	N/A
1.1M	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 — Montana

Social Security Administration$15.05B
Department of Health and Human Services$13.38B
Department of Agriculture$3.75B
Department of Transportation$3.56B
Department of the Treasury$3.01B

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 — Montana

COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$1.08B
HIGHWAY, STREET, AND BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION$321.2M
NONSCHEDULED CHARTERED FREIGHT AIR TRANSPORTATION$315.6M
ENGINEERING SERVICES$296.0M
OTHER HEAVY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION$249.4M

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 · Montana · Rhode Island