Alabama vs Louisiana on USAspending: $7.7B vs $4.7B

Gulf neighbors with unmatched recency

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. Alabama’s $7.7B stock sits $3.0 billion above Louisiana’s $4.7B. Place of performance in the award file is the scoring rule. Populations of 5,157,699 and 4,597,740 put both states in a similar size band. The comparison is not a giant-versus-small contest on people.

Alabama logs 161,254 awards on $7.7B. Louisiana logs 72,577 awards on $4.7B. Alabama’s busier file on a larger stock is consistent with more actions. Louisiana’s thinner file implies a heavier typical booking. Dollars favor Alabama; intensity and FY2026 favor Louisiana.

Alabama’s 5,157,699 residents and Louisiana’s 4,597,740 residents look like Gulf peers. Stacked dollars of $7,682,295,934 versus $4,707,913,049 still favor Alabama. FY2026 of $602,489,799 versus $1,232,995,601 already favors Louisiana by about 2-to-1. Per capita of $116.81 versus $268.17 is the intensity inversion. Award rows of 161,254 versus 72,577 stay with Alabama. Buildings versus ships is mix.

Louisiana’s $268.17 versus Alabama’s $116.81

Alabama’s 5,157,699 residents against $7.7B produce $116.81 per capita. Louisiana’s 4,597,740 residents against $4.7B produce $268.17. Intensity in Louisiana is more than double Alabama’s even though the Census counts are close and Alabama holds the larger stacked total.

A $268.17 per-person reading is an intensity fact attached to $4.7B, not a household check. Alabama’s $116.81 is attached to $7.7B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. Similar people can still hide a wide per-resident split when FY2026 already favors Louisiana by about 2-to-1.

Buildings in Alabama, ships in Louisiana

Alabama’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Louisiana’s is ship building and repairing. Those NAICS labels mark the largest grouping in each state’s file. Building awards and shipyard awards are different lead products sitting on $7.7B and $4.7B stocks.

A construction lead inside Alabama’s 161,254-award file can include large facility actions without explaining every dollar. A ship-building lead inside Louisiana’s 72,577-award file can concentrate yard work without making Louisiana a single-product state. Mix differs. Neither label is the entire stock.

FY2026: $602.5M in Alabama vs $1.23B in Louisiana

FY2026 obligations are $602,489,799 in Alabama and $1,232,995,601 in Louisiana. Louisiana’s latest year is about double Alabama’s, reversing a stacked ranking that favors Alabama by $3.0 billion. Recency questions belong in FY2026. The $7.7B and $4.7B totals remain the full USAspending.gov aggregate this comparison uses. Both years are obligations, not outlays.

Do not divide those FY figures by Alabama’s 161,254 or Louisiana’s 72,577 all-years awards. Per capita of $116.81 on 5,157,699 residents versus $268.17 on 4,597,740 residents is the intensity comparison. FY2026 is the cut that most clearly favors Louisiana. Stacked totals still favor Alabama.

Louisiana’s $1,232,995,601 FY2026 versus Alabama’s $602,489,799 already reverses $4,707,913,049 versus $7,682,295,934. 72,577 awards versus 161,254 awards and 4,597,740 residents versus 5,157,699 residents produce $268.17 versus $116.81. Gulf neighbors can invert on the latest year. Buildings versus ships is mix. Both years are USAspending.gov obligations.

Close people, inverted year

Alabama leads stacked dollars ($7.7B vs $4.7B), award count (161,254 vs 72,577), and population (5,157,699 vs 4,597,740). Louisiana leads per capita ($268.17 vs $116.81) and FY2026 ($1.23B vs $602.5M). Those splits are why two Gulf neighbors cannot be reduced to one ranking.

Commercial and institutional building construction versus ship building and repairing is mix inside files that contain many other industries. Use the Alabama and Louisiana hubs for agencies and recipients. Keep both stocks labeled as USAspending.gov obligations.

Gulf neighbors, inverted year

Alabama’s 5,157,699 residents and Louisiana’s 4,597,740 residents look like a peer pair. Stacked dollars of $7,682,295,934 versus $4,707,913,049 still favor Alabama. FY2026 of $602,489,799 versus $1,232,995,601 already favors Louisiana by about 2-to-1. Per capita of $116.81 versus $268.17 is the intensity inversion. Award rows are 161,254 versus 72,577.

Commercial and institutional building construction versus ship building and repairing is mix for two neighboring files. Do not average FY2026 into the stacked totals. Both years are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance. Outlays are not in this packet. Alabama’s $7,682,295,934 and Louisiana’s $4,707,913,049 remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance.

Questions

Which state has more federal spending, Alabama or Louisiana?

Alabama leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $7,682,295,934 versus Louisiana’s $4,707,913,049. Alabama has more awards (161,254 vs 72,577) and slightly more people (5,157,699 vs 4,597,740). Spending per capita is $116.81 in Alabama and $268.17 in Louisiana. FY2026 obligations are $602.5M and $1.23B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Does Louisiana outpace Alabama in FY2026?

Yes. FY2026 obligations are $1,232,995,601 in Louisiana versus $602,489,799 in Alabama. The stacked ranking still favors Alabama ($7.7B vs $4.7B). Per capita is $268.17 versus $116.81. Award counts are 72,577 and 161,254. Populations are 4,597,740 and 5,157,699.

What industries lead Alabama and Louisiana federal awards?

Alabama’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Louisiana’s is ship building and repairing. Those slices sit on $7.7B and $4.7B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 161,254 in Alabama and 72,577 in Louisiana.

Are Alabama vs Louisiana figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $7.7B and $4.7B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $602.5M and $1.23B measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.