Arkansas vs Montana on USAspending: $1.7B vs $1.2B

A larger Arkansas stock on a cooler per-capita ratio

The stacked ranking is not close if you only read dollars: $1.7B in Arkansas versus $1.2B in Montana. Population explains most of that gap. Arkansas’s 3,088,354 residents are nearly three times Montana’s 1,137,233. Divide the same USAspending.gov obligation stocks by those Census counts and the ranking flips. Montana’s $187.18 per capita sits well above Arkansas’s $85.06.

Award counts track the larger file, not the hotter ratio. Arkansas records 79,590 awards; Montana records 21,487. That is a denser action log on a modestly larger stock, not proof of larger average awards. The packet does not report mean award size, and dividing $1.7B or $1.2B by those row totals would invent a figure USAspending.gov does not supply here.

FY2026 does not restore Montana’s intensity lead in dollar terms. Arkansas’s $262.7M latest-year obligations still exceed Montana’s $212.9M. The per-capita story ($187.18 vs $85.06) and the stacked-dollar story ($1.2B vs $1.7B) remain different rankings on the same USAspending.gov obligation series.

Poultry processing versus commercial building construction

Arkansas’s lead NAICS label is poultry processing. Montana’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those peaks sit on the $1.7B and $1.2B stocks; they are the largest industry slices in each state’s mix, not the whole mix. Poultry processing is a first read on Arkansas’s obligation file. Building construction is a first read on Montana’s.

The 79,590 Arkansas awards and 21,487 Montana awards include many actions outside those two labels. Agency and recipient detail lives on the Arkansas and Montana state hubs. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are a different series and are not in this packet.

FY2026 recency: $262.7M versus $212.9M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $262.7M in Arkansas and $212.9M in Montana. The latest-year gap is narrower than the all-years $1.7B versus $1.2B ranking. Recency still favors Arkansas, but not by the same margin as the stacked stock. Treat FY2026 as a slice of obligations posted for that year, not as Treasury cash already paid.

Do not divide $262.7M or $212.9M by the all-years award counts of 79,590 and 21,487. Spending per capita of $85.06 and $187.18 already sits beside the Census counts of 3,088,354 and 1,137,233. Cite USAspending.gov for both the stacked stocks and the FY2026 amounts.

What the Montana intensity figure is saying

Montana’s $187.18 per capita on 1,137,233 residents is the distinctive cut in this pair. Arkansas’s $1.7B stock is larger because the state is larger. Intensity is the opposite story: fewer people, a $1.2B stock, and a hotter ratio. Commercial and institutional building construction as Montana’s lead industry is consistent with a file that can concentrate dollars without matching Arkansas’s 79,590-row volume.

Arkansas’s $85.06 per capita on 3,088,354 residents is the cooler reading next to a poultry-processing peak and a much thicker award file. Montana’s $187.18 ratio on 1,137,233 residents is the hotter reading next to commercial and institutional building construction. Read stock, ratio, and row count together. Cite USAspending.gov. Keep every dollar figure labeled as an obligation.

How to read Arkansas versus Montana

Read Arkansas first on stacked dollars ($1.7B vs $1.2B), population (3,088,354 vs 1,137,233), awards (79,590 vs 21,487), and FY2026 ($262.7M vs $212.9M). Read Montana first on spending per capita ($187.18 vs $85.06). Note poultry processing versus commercial and institutional building construction.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The Arkansas and Montana hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are not listed. Keep $85.06 and $187.18 labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations.

Obligations, outlays, and what this packet omits

An obligation is a binding commitment recorded in USAspending.gov. An outlay is cash later paid. The $1.7B and $1.2B stocks, the $262.7M and $212.9M FY2026 amounts, and the $85.06 and $187.18 per-capita figures are obligation cuts. Cash can lag, and this packet does not publish outlays.

The packet also does not publish average award size, agency shares, or recipient lists. Those live on the comparison hub and the Arkansas and Montana state pages. Poultry processing and commercial and institutional building construction remain mix labels on 79,590 and 21,487 awards, not proofs of a typical award. Cite USAspending.gov. Keep population labeled as Census counts of 3,088,354 and 1,137,233.

Questions

Does Arkansas or Montana have more federal spending?

Arkansas leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $1.7B to Montana’s $1.2B. Montana leads spending per capita, $187.18 versus $85.06, on 1,137,233 residents against Arkansas’s 3,088,354. Arkansas has more awards (79,590 vs 21,487). FY2026 obligations are $262.7M in Arkansas and $212.9M in Montana.

Why is Montana’s per-capita figure higher than Arkansas’s?

The packet reports $187.18 per capita in Montana on 1,137,233 residents and $85.06 in Arkansas on 3,088,354. Stacked stocks are $1.2B versus $1.7B. Award counts are 21,487 versus 79,590. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. Population, not a larger Montana stock, drives the hotter ratio.

What industries lead in Arkansas and Montana?

Arkansas’s top industry is poultry processing. Montana’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $1.7B and $1.2B. Award counts are 79,590 in Arkansas and 21,487 in Montana. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks.

Are Arkansas vs Montana figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $1.7B and $1.2B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $262.7M and $212.9M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag behind commitments. Spending per capita ($85.06 vs $187.18) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays.