New York vs District of Columbia

The District’s $19.9B outruns New York’s $11.9B

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. The District’s $19.9B is about 1.7 times New York’s $11.9B. Place of performance in the award file is not a population contest. A 702,250-person capital outruns a 19,867,248-person state in this aggregate because headquarters contracting stacks dollars in the District while New York’s $11.9B sits on a much larger Census count.

Award counts run the other way, and the gap is large. New York has 705,506 awards; the District has 95,844. New York’s file is busier in rows and lighter in dollars. The District’s file is heavier in dollars on far fewer actions — a much higher typical booking. The $19.9B versus $11.9B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.

$70.36 in New York versus $3,166.95 in the District

New York’s 19,867,248 residents dwarf the District’s 702,250. After dividing the obligation stocks by those Census counts, the District shows $3,166.95 per capita and New York shows $70.36. Intensity is not close. New York’s thin per-person reading is the counterpart to a capital file booked against 702,250 people.

A $70.36 per-person reading in New York on 19,867,248 residents means a huge private economy can coexist with a thinner federal-award intensity. The District’s $3,166.95 is not a claim that every resident received that amount. This table scores USAspending awards, not GDP and not a household transfer.

Questions

Which has more federal spending, New York or the District of Columbia?

The District of Columbia leads in USAspending.gov obligations: $19.9B versus New York’s $11.9B. New York has far more awards (705,506 vs 95,844) and far more people (19,867,248 vs 702,250). Spending per capita is $70.36 in New York and $3,166.95 in the District. FY2026 obligations are $1.4B and $2.2B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Why does D.C. show more federal obligations than New York despite far fewer people?

The District’s $19.9B on 702,250 residents produces $3,166.95 per capita. New York’s $11.9B on 19,867,248 residents produces $70.36. New York actually logs more awards (705,506 vs 95,844), so the District’s lead is dollars per action and capital place-of-performance intensity, not more rows. FY2026 also favors the District ($2.2B vs $1.4B).

What industries lead New York and D.C. federal awards?

New York’s top industry is other communications equipment manufacturing. The District’s is administrative management and general management consulting services. Those slices sit on $11.9B and $19.9B in obligations. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award. Award counts are 705,506 in New York and 95,844 in the District.

Are New York vs D.C. figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $11.9B and $19.9B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $1.4B and $2.2B measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits.