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Pennsylvania vs District of Columbia

Federal spending comparison

Pennsylvania shows $28.1B in USAspending.gov obligations; the District of Columbia shows $19.9B. Pennsylvania logs 1,468,918 awards against the District’s 95,844 — one of the widest row gaps in this set — on 13,078,751 residents versus 702,250. Spending per capita is $239.68 in Pennsylvania and $3,166.95 in the District. Pennsylvania’s top industry is medicinal and botanical manufacturing; the District’s is administrative management and general management consulting services. FY2026 obligations are $3.1B and $2.2B.

Key figures

  • Pennsylvania $28.1B vs District of Columbia $19.9B in USAspending obligations.
  • Per capita $239.68 vs $3166.95 on 13,078,751 vs 702,250 residents.
  • Awards: 1,468,918 vs 95,844; FY2026 $3.1B vs $2.2B.
  • Top industries: medicinal and botanical manufacturing (PA) vs administrative management and general management consulting services (DC).
  • Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

1.47 million Pennsylvania awards vs 95,844 in D.C.

The District of Columbia’s spending per capita is $3166.95 against $239.68 in the paired state. A small Census count — 702,250 in the District versus 13,078,751 in the state — produces an intensity reading that no large-state file matches in this pair. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays. Cash payments can lag award dates. Headquarters can differ from the state coded on the award.

Stacked stock still matters. Pennsylvania holds $28.1B; District of Columbia holds $19.9B. The District can trail or lead that stock while leading intensity. Place of performance in the capital is not a state economy in miniature. It is a dense award geography on a small population denominator.

Medicinal manufacturing vs management consulting

Award counts are 1,468,918 in Pennsylvania and 95,844 in District of Columbia. The District’s row file is smaller. The paired state’s row file is larger. Neither count is an outlay. Pennsylvania’s 1,468,918 awards make the District’s 95,844-row file look tiny even though the District holds $19.9B.

Medicinal and botanical manufacturing on a crowded Pennsylvania row file versus administrative management and general management consulting services on a dense capital file is mix on a stock-versus-intensity split. Intensity uses Census population against stacked obligations. It is not personal income and it is not a city-versus-state verdict.

Full analysis: Pennsylvania vs District of Columbia on USAspending: $28.1B vs $19.9B

Questions

Which has more federal spending, Pennsylvania or District of Columbia?
Pennsylvania shows $28.1B in USAspending.gov obligations; District of Columbia shows $19.9B. Award counts are 1,468,918 and 95,844. Populations are 13,078,751 and 702,250. Spending per capita is $239.68 versus $3166.95. FY2026 obligations are $3.1B and $2.2B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.
What industries lead Pennsylvania and District of Columbia federal awards?
Pennsylvania’s top industry is medicinal and botanical manufacturing. District of Columbia’s top industry is administrative management and general management consulting services. Those slices sit on $28.1B and $19.9B in USAspending.gov obligations and on 1,468,918 versus 95,844 awards. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award.
How do Pennsylvania and District of Columbia compare on spending per capita?
Spending per capita is $239.68 in Pennsylvania on 13,078,751 residents and $3166.95 in District of Columbia on 702,250 residents. Those ratios use stacked USAspending.gov obligations of $28.1B and $19.9B, not FY2026 alone and not GDP. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
Are Pennsylvania vs District of Columbia figures Treasury outlays?
No. The $28.1B and $19.9B stacked totals, and FY2026 amounts of $3.1B and $2.2B, are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Award counts are 1,468,918 and 95,844. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury 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 Pennsylvania and District of Columbia.
PennsylvaniaMetricDistrict of Columbia
$123.59BTotal Spending$18.02B
$9KPer Capita$26K
N/A% of GDPN/A
13.1MPopulation702K
N/AMedian IncomeN/A
N/APoverty RateN/A
N/ABachelor Degree %N/A
N/AMedian AgeN/A
N/AUnemploymentN/A
N/AGDP (Millions)N/A

Top Agencies — Pennsylvania

  • Department of Health and Human Services$489.40B
  • Social Security Administration$184.58B
  • Department of Defense$124.00B
  • Department of Agriculture$22.57B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$17.67B

Top Agencies — District of Columbia

  • Department of Transportation$56.43B
  • Department of Defense$35.97B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$30.00B
  • Department of State$21.68B
  • Department of Homeland Security$18.82B

Top Industries — Pennsylvania

  • RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$29.49B
  • POWER BOILER AND HEAT EXCHANGER MANUFACTURING$17.61B
  • AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$17.42B
  • MILITARY ARMORED VEHICLE, TANK, AND TANK COMPONENT MANUFACTURING$11.80B
  • MEDICINAL AND BOTANICAL MANUFACTURING$11.30B

Top Industries — District of Columbia

  • COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$29.48B
  • ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES$26.89B
  • ENGINEERING SERVICES$21.45B
  • OTHER COMPUTER RELATED SERVICES$16.10B
  • CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES$6.61B