California vs Colorado on USAspending: $39.5B against $8.1B

91,723 awards on $8.1B

Colorado’s award count is the distinctive fact. 91,723 actions on $8.1B is a concentrated file relative to California’s 639,340 actions on $39.5B. Colorado’s row count is about 14 percent of California’s; its dollar stock is about 20 percent. The Mountain West tape is dollar-heavy relative to rows. The packet does not publish average award size. The contrast is enough to flag concentration.

Colorado’s lead NAICS is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. A charter-freight peak is consistent with large airlift bookings rather than a high-frequency services tape. California’s commercial-construction peak sits inside a much larger 639,340-row mix.

Colorado’s $8.1B charter-freight stock on 5,957,493 residents is a concentrated 91,723-row airlift file; California’s $39.5B construction-led stock on 39,431,263 residents remains larger in dollars and warmer at $135.64 versus $97.34. FY2026 of $579.9M versus $5.3B does not reorder that ranking.

Charter freight versus federal buildings

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation and commercial and institutional building construction are different NAICS families. Colorado’s $8.1B charter-freight peak is a logistics-airlift mix. California’s $39.5B construction peak is a facilities mix. The packet names those peaks; it does not give shares.

Use the California and Colorado state hubs for agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not treat the charter-freight peak as an outlay category. The 91,723 and 639,340 rows include many other codes.

FY2026: $579.9M versus $5.3B

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $579.9M in Colorado. Colorado’s latest-year amount is a modest slice of $8.1B. California’s $5.3B is a modest slice of $39.5B. Recency preserves California’s lead.

Treat FY2026 as a recency slice of obligations, not Treasury cash. Do not divide $5.3B or $579.9M by 639,340 or 91,723 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $135.64 and $97.34 already uses Census denominators of 39,431,263 and 5,957,493.

Population versus intensity

Colorado’s 5,957,493 residents are about 15 percent of California’s 39,431,263. Colorado’s $8.1B is about 20 percent of California’s $39.5B. Dollars slightly outrun population, yet California still leads on $135.64 versus $97.34. The intensity gap is moderate. The award-count gap is large.

Keep those per-capita figures labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations. They are not outlays per resident. Place-of-performance for charter freight can sit at an airfield. The packet does not reallocate.

Charter freight on a concentrated 91,723-row tape

Colorado’s nonscheduled-chartered-freight-air-transportation peak on $8.1B with only 91,723 awards is a concentration signature. Airlift bookings can be large. California’s 639,340 awards on $39.5B with a commercial-construction peak is a broader file. Colorado’s row share is smaller than its dollar share. Spending per capita of $97.34 on 5,957,493 residents trails California’s $135.64 on 39,431,263.

FY2026 of $579.9M versus $5.3B restates California’s recency lead. Colorado’s latest-year amount is a modest slice of $8.1B. Cite USAspending.gov for obligations. Do not convert charter-freight dollars into outlays, and do not divide $579.9M by 91,723 all-years awards.

Place-of-performance for charter freight can sit at an airfield. The packet does not reallocate carriers or customers. Use the California and Colorado hubs for agencies and recipients. The comparison hub holds the $39.5B versus $8.1B tables. Keep 91,723 versus 639,340 labeled as all-years award counts. Construction versus airlift are mix tags on different stacks.

Colorado’s 91,723 awards on 5,957,493 residents under $97.34 per capita describe a concentrated charter-freight file on $8.1B. California’s $39.5B, 639,340 awards, and $135.64 on 39,431,263 residents remain the scale and intensity side. FY2026 of $579.9M versus $5.3B restates recency. Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation is a mix tag. Cite USAspending.gov. Outlays are not listed.

How to read California versus Colorado

Read California first on stacked dollars ($39.5B vs $8.1B), spending per capita ($135.64 vs $97.34), award count (639,340 vs 91,723), and FY2026 ($5.3B vs $579.9M). Read Colorado for a concentrated 91,723-row tape and a nonscheduled chartered-freight peak.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The California and Colorado hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are not listed.

Colorado’s 5,957,493 residents and California’s 39,431,263 residents set the $97.34 versus $135.64 denominators on $8.1B versus $39.5B. Award counts of 91,723 versus 639,340 and FY2026 of $579.9M versus $5.3B complete the comparison. Chartered freight air transportation versus commercial construction remains the mix contrast. Cite USAspending.gov. Obligations, not outlays.

Questions

Does California or Colorado have more federal spending?

California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to Colorado’s $8.1B. California also leads spending per capita, $135.64 versus $97.34, on 39,431,263 residents against Colorado’s 5,957,493. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 91,723 in Colorado. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $579.9M in Colorado.

Why does Colorado have so few awards on $8.1B?

The packet reports 91,723 awards in Colorado on $8.1B versus 639,340 in California on $39.5B. Colorado’s lead industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation, a mix that can concentrate dollars in fewer airlift actions. Spending per capita is $97.34 versus $135.64. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in California and Colorado?

California’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Colorado’s is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $39.5B and $8.1B. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 91,723 in Colorado. Those peaks are mix labels on the stacked stocks, not inventories of every award.

Are California vs Colorado figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $39.5B and $8.1B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $5.3B and $579.9M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($135.64 vs $97.34) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.