Arizona vs Virginia on USAspending

Similar headcount, dissimilar federal books

Arizona’s 7,582,384 residents and Virginia’s 8,811,195 residents put the two states in the same population band. Virginia’s $110.8B obligation stock is still more than eight times Arizona’s $13.1B. When denominators are similar, a gap that large is a numerator story: much more federal award activity is coded to Virginia by place of performance on USAspending.gov.

Arizona’s $13.1B is a sizable federal footprint, especially for a state whose leading industry in this aggregate is insurance rather than classic Pentagon manufacturing. The comparison does not rank quality of spending. It ranks recorded obligation stocks.

Arizona’s 7,582,384 residents are about 86 percent of Virginia’s 8,811,195. Arizona’s $13.1B is about 12 percent of Virginia’s $110.8B. Headcount is not the story. Place-of-performance on USAspending.gov is the story: a contractor-hub stock in Virginia, a smaller federal book in Arizona that is still large enough to show $13.1B and a distinctive insurance lead.

Health insurance carriers vs computer-related services

Arizona’s top industry is direct health and medical insurance carriers. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Insurance as a leading federal NAICS code often reflects health-plan and related coverage awards rather than factory output. Computer-related services as a leading code is the professional-services pattern around federal buyers in Virginia. The pair is therefore a benefits-administration versus IT-services contrast at the top of each mix.

Arizona’s award count is 118,504 — low relative to Virginia’s 1,116,647. A top code in insurance can sit on fewer, larger awards than a computer-services market full of modifications. The packet does not split the 118,504 Arizona actions by industry, so the insurance label is the leading slice only, not a claim that every Arizona award is a health plan.

Direct health and medical insurance carriers as a top federal industry often puzzles readers who expect defense manufacturing. The packet’s industry fact is insurance, and this copy keeps that fact. It does not estimate a Medicare share or name carriers. Virginia’s other computer related services label is the IT-services counterpart under $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards, against Arizona’s 118,504 awards.

Per-capita $435.71 — high for this set, still below Virginia

Arizona’s spending per capita is $435.71, among the higher non-Virginia figures in this batch, because $13.1B is being divided by 7.6 million people rather than by a 20-million-person state. Virginia’s $1,344.24 still triples it. Per-capita is not a premium paid to each resident. It is obligations over Census population.

FY 2026 is the latest fiscal year on the row. The $13.1B and $110.8B aggregates are not single-year cash budgets. Multi-year awards sit underneath both.

$435.71 per capita is one of the higher non-Virginia figures in this writer batch because $13.1B over 7,582,384 people is denser than $13.1B would be over a 20-million-person state. Virginia’s $1,344.24 is still about triple. Per-capita is obligations over Census population, with FY 2026 as the latest year tag.

Using the Arizona–Virginia row

Quote three numbers together: $13.1B vs $110.8B, 118,504 vs 1,116,647 awards, and $435.71 vs $1,344.24 per capita. Dropping the award column hides how thin Arizona’s action file is next to Virginia. Dropping per-capita hides that Arizona is not a tiny state.

Cite USAspending.gov. Do not relabel obligations as outlays. For agency and recipient lists, open the Arizona and Virginia state pages. Other pairs live on the comparison index if the question is Arizona versus another Mountain West state.

A 118,504-action file under $13.1B is consistent with fewer, larger awards than Virginia’s modification-heavy services book. That is a reading of the two published columns, not a new average this page invents. Agency and recipient lists remain on the Arizona and Virginia state pages.

What is out of scope

This copy does not estimate how much of Arizona’s $13.1B is Medicare-related insurance work, does not name carriers, and does not convert stocks to Treasury payments. Those claims would need tables that are not in the packet. The state hubs and a filtered USAspending download are the next tools.

Insurance dollars are still federal obligations

Arizona’s $13.1B includes whatever share sits in direct health and medical insurance carriers plus every other NAICS code in the state aggregate. Virginia’s $110.8B includes other computer related services plus the rest of Virginia’s mix. A reader who treats the top-industry cell as the whole book will understate both states. The comparison’s job is to keep $13.1B, 118,504 awards, 7,582,384 residents, and $435.71 per capita on the same row as $110.8B, 1,116,647 awards, 8,811,195 residents, and $1,344.24 per capita, sourced to USAspending.gov, with FY 2026 as the latest year.

Questions

How does Arizona federal spending compare with Virginia?

Arizona shows $13.1B in USAspending obligations; Virginia shows $110.8B. Populations are closer: 7,582,384 in Arizona and 8,811,195 in Virginia. Totals are obligations, not Treasury outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What is Arizona’s top federal industry versus Virginia?

Arizona’s top industry is direct health and medical insurance carriers. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those NAICS descriptions are the leading slices in SpendingVault’s aggregates, not a complete inventory of either state’s federal awards. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What is Arizona’s federal spending per capita compared with Virginia?

Arizona’s spending per capita is $435.71. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Both divide USAspending obligations by Census population (7,582,384 and 8,811,195). Per-capita is a scaling statistic, not a payment to each resident. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

How many federal awards does Arizona have vs Virginia?

Arizona has 118,504 awards in this aggregate; Virginia has 1,116,647. Award counts include contracts, grants, and modifications. Virginia also leads on dollars, $110.8B versus Arizona’s $13.1B. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.