New Mexico vs South Carolina
Federal spending comparison
New Mexico accounts for $3.93B in USAspending.gov obligations; South Carolina accounts for $3.85B. The stacked stocks are a near-tie. Everything else is not. South Carolina has 129,440 awards against New Mexico’s 19,233, and 5,478,831 residents against 2,130,256. New Mexico’s spending per capita is $945.82; South Carolina’s is $83.98. FY2026 dollars favor New Mexico, $2.01B versus $460.1M. New Mexico’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction; South Carolina’s is biological product manufacturing. The figures are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- New Mexico $3.93B vs South Carolina $3.85B in stacked USAspending obligations.
- New Mexico per capita $945.82 vs South Carolina $83.98 on 2,130,256 vs 5,478,831 residents.
- Awards: 19,233 vs 129,440; FY2026 $2.01B vs $460.1M.
- Top industries: commercial construction in New Mexico; biological products in South Carolina.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
A photo-finish stock with a 11-to-1 intensity gap
New Mexico’s $3.93B is about 1.02 times South Carolina’s $3.85B. Population runs the other way by about 2.57 times: 5,478,831 versus 2,130,256. The stacked race could not be closer. The per-capita pair could not be further apart. $945.82 in New Mexico versus $83.98 in South Carolina is the comparison this pair is actually about. Cite those ratios as packet figures beside the Census counts.
Award counts belong to South Carolina, 129,440 versus 19,233, about 6.7 times as many rows on a slightly smaller stock. The Carolina file is busy. New Mexico’s 19,233 actions on $3.93B are sparse and still sit beside the $945.82 reading.
FY2026 then stops looking like a photo finish. $2.01B in New Mexico versus $460.1M in South Carolina matches the intensity ranking, not the stacked ranking.
Construction versus biological products
New Mexico’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. South Carolina’s lead NAICS is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those peaks sit on $3.93B and $3.85B. A construction lead is a first filter on the New Mexico mix; a biologics lead is a first filter on the Carolina mix.
The 19,233 New Mexico awards and 129,440 South Carolina awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the New Mexico and South Carolina state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.
Full analysis: New Mexico vs South Carolina on USAspending: $3.93B vs $3.85B →
Questions
- Does New Mexico or South Carolina have more federal spending?
- New Mexico leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.93B to South Carolina’s $3.85B. New Mexico also leads spending per capita, $945.82 versus $83.98, on 2,130,256 residents against South Carolina’s 5,478,831. South Carolina has far more awards (129,440 vs 19,233). FY2026 obligations are $2.01B in New Mexico and $460.1M in South Carolina.
- Why is New Mexico’s per-capita figure so much higher?
- The packet reports $945.82 per capita in New Mexico on 2,130,256 residents and $83.98 in South Carolina on 5,478,831. Stacked stocks are close ($3.93B vs $3.85B). FY2026 obligations are $2.01B versus $460.1M. Award counts are 19,233 versus 129,440. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
- What industries lead in New Mexico and South Carolina?
- New Mexico’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. South Carolina’s is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.93B and $3.85B. Award counts are 19,233 in New Mexico and 129,440 in South Carolina.
- Are New Mexico vs South Carolina figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $3.93B and $3.85B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $2.01B and $460.1M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($945.82 vs $83.98) uses Census population where present.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| New Mexico | Metric | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| $19.40B | Total Spending | $61.05B |
| $9K | Per Capita | $11K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 2.1M | Population | 5.5M |
| 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 — New Mexico
- Department of Energy$185.29B
- Department of Health and Human Services$40.14B
- Social Security Administration$27.25B
- Department of Defense$9.29B
- Department of Agriculture$6.62B
Top Agencies — South Carolina
- Department of Health and Human Services$236.02B
- Social Security Administration$78.83B
- Department of Energy$40.24B
- Department of Defense$16.77B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$15.08B
Top Industries — New Mexico
- FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$148.95B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES$35.52B
- COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION$3.50B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$1.69B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$1.21B
Top Industries — South Carolina
- FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES$25.97B
- HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL$6.63B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$6.47B
- REMEDIATION SERVICES$3.68B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (EXCEPT NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY)$3.59B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · New Mexico · South Carolina