North Carolina vs Utah
Federal spending comparison
North Carolina accounts for $6.34B in USAspending.gov obligations; Utah accounts for $4.06B. Award counts are not close: 429,746 in North Carolina against 26,509 in Utah. Population follows the same direction, 11,046,024 versus 3,503,613. Intensity does not. Utah’s per-capita reading is $199.06; North Carolina’s is $66.77. FY2026 is the tight cut: $737.5M in North Carolina and $697.4M in Utah. Those amounts are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- North Carolina $6.34B vs Utah $4.06B in stacked USAspending obligations.
- Utah per capita $199.06 vs North Carolina $66.77 on 3,503,613 vs 11,046,024 residents.
- Awards: 429,746 vs 26,509; FY2026 $737.5M vs $697.4M.
- Top industries: pharmaceutical preparations in North Carolina; nonferrous metal rolling in Utah.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
A modest dollar lead on an enormous award-count gap
North Carolina’s $6.34B is about 1.56 times Utah’s $4.06B. Population is about 3.15 times: 11,046,024 versus 3,503,613. People outrun dollars, which is why Utah’s $199.06 per capita beats North Carolina’s $66.77. The mountain-west file is smaller on stock and denser per resident.
Award counts stretch the contrast further. 429,746 versus 26,509 is about 16.2 times as many rows on only 1.56 times the dollars. North Carolina’s file is thick with actions. Utah’s 26,509 awards on $4.06B are sparse by comparison and still map to more obligation per Census resident.
FY2026 is the ranking that almost ties. $737.5M versus $697.4M keeps a slim North Carolina dollar lead on the latest year, unlike pairs where recency flips the stock ranking.
Pharmaceutical preparations versus nonferrous metal work
North Carolina’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Utah’s top industry is nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, and extruding. Those NAICS peaks sit on $6.34B and $4.06B. A pharma lead is a first filter on the Carolina mix; a metal-rolling lead is a first filter on the Utah mix.
The 429,746 North Carolina awards and 26,509 Utah awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the North Carolina and Utah state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation slices.
Full analysis: North Carolina vs Utah on USAspending: $6.34B vs $4.06B →
Questions
- Does North Carolina or Utah have more federal spending?
- North Carolina leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $6.34B to Utah’s $4.06B. Utah leads spending per capita, $199.06 versus $66.77, on 3,503,613 residents against North Carolina’s 11,046,024. North Carolina has far more awards (429,746 vs 26,509). FY2026 obligations are $737.5M in North Carolina and $697.4M in Utah.
- Why is Utah’s per-capita federal spending higher?
- The packet reports $199.06 per capita in Utah on 3,503,613 residents and $66.77 in North Carolina on 11,046,024. North Carolina has more people and far more awards (429,746 vs 26,509). Stacked obligations are $6.34B versus $4.06B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
- What industries lead in North Carolina and Utah?
- North Carolina’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Utah’s is nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, and extruding. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $6.34B and $4.06B. Award counts are 429,746 in North Carolina and 26,509 in Utah.
- Are North Carolina vs Utah figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $6.34B and $4.06B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $737.5M and $697.4M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($66.77 vs $199.06) uses Census population against those obligations.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| North Carolina | Metric | Utah |
|---|---|---|
| $60.72B | Total Spending | $12.31B |
| $5K | Per Capita | $4K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 11.0M | Population | 3.5M |
| 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 — 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 Agencies — Utah
- Department of Defense$33.86B
- Social Security Administration$29.09B
- Department of Health and Human Services$25.69B
- Department of Education$5.77B
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration$4.55B
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
Top Industries — Utah
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$12.40B
- GUIDED MISSILE AND SPACE VEHICLE MANUFACTURING$11.72B
- GUIDED MISSILE AND SPACE VEHICLE PROPULSION UNIT AND PROPULSION UNIT PARTS MANUFACTURING$4.45B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$1.39B
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$1.37B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · North Carolina · Utah