New Jersey vs Washington
Federal spending comparison
New Jersey holds $8,084,032,234 in federal obligations on USAspending.gov. Washington holds $7,337,035,583. New Jersey leads stacked dollars by about $747 million. The award file is the louder split: 1,162,765 actions in New Jersey against 236,821 in Washington. Populations are 9,500,851 in New Jersey and 7,958,180 in Washington. Spending per capita is $92.49 versus $73.46. FY2026 obligations are $878.7M in New Jersey and $584.6M in Washington.
Key figures
- New Jersey $8.1B vs Washington $7.3B in USAspending obligations.
- Populations: New Jersey 9,500,851 vs Washington 7,958,180; per capita $92.49 vs $73.46.
- New Jersey has far more awards (1,162,765 vs 236,821); FY2026 $878.7M vs $584.6M.
- Top industries: pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing (NJ) vs commercial and institutional building construction (WA).
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
Five times the awards on a similar billion
These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. New Jersey’s $8.1B stock sits $747 million above Washington’s $7.3B. Place of performance in the award file is the scoring rule. Both states are large. The comparison is not a small overlay on a giant file. It is two substantial stocks with very different row counts.
New Jersey’s $8,084,032,234 is spread across 1,162,765 records. Washington’s $7,337,035,583 sits on 236,821. That is about five New Jersey awards for each Washington award. Dollars are in the same band; paperwork volume is not. The $8.1B versus $7.3B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.
New Jersey’s 1,162,765 awards on $8,084,032,234 versus Washington’s 236,821 awards on $7,337,035,583 is a five-to-one paperwork split on stocks that are only $747 million apart. Per capita of $92.49 on 9,500,851 residents versus $73.46 on 7,958,180 residents moves with New Jersey. FY2026 of $878,702,039 versus $584,612,717 does too. Pharmaceuticals versus building construction is mix, not the entire book of either file.
Intensity: $92.49 versus $73.46
New Jersey’s 9,500,851 residents against $8.1B produce $92.49 per capita. Washington’s 7,958,180 residents against $7.3B produce $73.46. Intensity favors New Jersey, in the same direction as the stacked ranking and the FY2026 ranking. Population does not invert this pair.
A $92.49 per-person reading is an intensity fact attached to $8.1B, not a household check. Washington’s $73.46 is attached to $7.3B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. New Jersey leads stacked dollars, rows, people, intensity, and the latest fiscal year. Washington’s counters in this packet are limited.
Full analysis: New Jersey vs Washington on USAspending: $8.1B vs $7.3B →
Questions
- Which state has more federal spending, New Jersey or Washington?
- New Jersey leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $8,084,032,234 versus Washington’s $7,337,035,583. New Jersey has far more awards (1,162,765 vs 236,821) and more people (9,500,851 vs 7,958,180). Spending per capita is $92.49 in New Jersey and $73.46 in Washington. FY2026 obligations are $878.7M and $584.6M. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.
- Why does New Jersey have so many more awards than Washington?
- New Jersey logs 1,162,765 awards on $8.1B. Washington logs 236,821 awards on $7.3B. New Jersey’s file is busier in rows on a similar-order stock, which implies a smaller typical booking. Per capita is $92.49 versus $73.46. Populations are 9,500,851 and 7,958,180. FY2026 favors New Jersey ($878.7M vs $584.6M).
- What industries lead New Jersey and Washington federal awards?
- New Jersey’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Washington’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those slices sit on $8.1B and $7.3B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 1,162,765 in New Jersey and 236,821 in Washington.
- Are New Jersey vs Washington figures Treasury outlays?
- No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $8.1B and $7.3B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $878.7M and $584.6M measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| New Jersey | Metric | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| $46.16B | Total Spending | $51.61B |
| $5K | Per Capita | $6K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 9.5M | Population | 8.0M |
| 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 — New Jersey
- Social Security Administration$114.07B
- Department of Health and Human Services$101.46B
- Department of Defense$46.63B
- Department of Transportation$14.94B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$12.27B
Top Agencies — Washington
- Department of Health and Human Services$95.41B
- Social Security Administration$94.70B
- Department of Defense$77.37B
- Department of Energy$74.17B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$15.02B
Top Industries — New Jersey
- SEARCH, DETECTION, NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AERONAUTICAL, AND NAUTICAL SYSTEM AND INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURING$17.07B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$6.78B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$5.94B
- COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$4.71B
- COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS$2.05B
Top Industries — Washington
- AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$57.18B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES$29.45B
- INDUSTRIAL NONBUILDING STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION$16.69B
- HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL$11.38B
- REMEDIATION SERVICES$10.65B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · New Jersey · Washington