California vs Hawaii on USAspending: $39.5B against $4.1B

A Pacific construction file on $4.1B

Hawaii’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. California’s lead NAICS is the same label. Shared peaks do not make the files interchangeable. Hawaii’s $4.1B construction mix sits on 1,446,146 residents. California’s $39.5B construction mix sits on 39,431,263. The island file is smaller in dollars and heavier per resident.

Hawaii files 75,796 awards. California files 639,340. Construction awards can be lumpy: facilities, housing, and base work can move a year. The packet does not split projects. Use the California and Hawaii state hubs for agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov.

Hawaii’s $4.1B construction-led stock on 1,446,146 residents shares California’s peak label and wins intensity at $196.71 versus $135.64; California’s $39.5B stock on 39,431,263 residents remains the scale file. FY2026 of $284.5M versus $5.3B does not reverse California’s dollar lead.

Hawaii’s $196.71 reading inverts intensity

Hawaii’s 1,446,146 residents are about 4 percent of California’s 39,431,263. Hawaii’s $4.1B is about 10 percent of California’s $39.5B. Dollars outrun population, which is why $196.71 exceeds $135.64. Scale is California’s. Intensity is Hawaii’s.

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 construction can sit at a job site on the islands while contractors are headquartered on the mainland. The packet does not reallocate.

FY2026: $284.5M versus $5.3B

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $284.5M in Hawaii. Hawaii’s latest-year amount is a modest slice of $4.1B. California’s $5.3B is a modest slice of $39.5B. Recency preserves California’s dollar lead and does not erase Hawaii’s $196.71 intensity lead.

Treat FY2026 as a recency slice of obligations, not Treasury cash. Do not divide $5.3B or $284.5M by 639,340 or 75,796 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $135.64 and $196.71 already uses Census denominators of 39,431,263 and 1,446,146.

Same label, two oceans of scale

Readers who see commercial and institutional building construction on both sides may expect similar files. The stocks are $39.5B and $4.1B. The award counts are 639,340 and 75,796. The labels are mix tags, not evidence that Hawaii is a smaller California.

Outlays are a different USAspending.gov series. This page stays on obligations: $39.5B versus $4.1B stacked, and $5.3B versus $284.5M in FY2026.

Island construction on 1.4 million residents

Hawaii and California share a commercial-and-institutional-building peak. Hawaii’s version sits on $4.1B, 75,796 awards, and 1,446,146 residents. California’s version sits on $39.5B, 639,340 awards, and 39,431,263 residents. The shared label is why this pairing is an island-versus-mainland scale story with an intensity inversion: $196.71 versus $135.64. Construction on the islands is not a smaller copy of California’s $39.5B construction file.

FY2026 of $284.5M versus $5.3B restates California’s recency lead. Hawaii’s latest-year amount is a modest slice of $4.1B. Cite USAspending.gov. Outlays are a different series. Do not divide $284.5M by 75,796 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $196.71 and $135.64 already uses the Census denominators.

Place-of-performance for construction can sit at a job site on the islands while contractors are headquartered on the mainland. The packet does not reallocate. Use the California and Hawaii hubs for agencies and recipients. The comparison hub holds the $39.5B versus $4.1B tables. Keep the shared peak as a mix tag on two different stacks and two different intensities.

Hawaii’s 75,796 awards on 1,446,146 residents under $196.71 per capita describe an island construction file that shares California’s peak label and not California’s $39.5B scale. California’s 639,340 awards and $135.64 on 39,431,263 residents remain the larger file with cooler intensity. FY2026 of $284.5M versus $5.3B restates recency. Cite USAspending.gov obligations only.

How to read California versus Hawaii

Read California first on stacked dollars ($39.5B vs $4.1B), award count (639,340 vs 75,796), and FY2026 ($5.3B vs $284.5M). Read Hawaii first on spending per capita ($196.71 vs $135.64) and on a shared commercial-construction peak on 1,446,146 residents.

The comparison hub holds the tables. Outlays are not listed.

Hawaii’s 1,446,146 residents and California’s 39,431,263 residents set the $196.71 versus $135.64 denominators on $4.1B versus $39.5B. Award counts of 75,796 versus 639,340 and FY2026 of $284.5M versus $5.3B complete the comparison. Both peak in commercial construction; intensity still favors Hawaii. Cite USAspending.gov. Obligations, not outlays.

Questions

Does California or Hawaii have more federal spending?

California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to Hawaii’s $4.1B. Hawaii leads spending per capita, $196.71 versus $135.64, on 1,446,146 residents against California’s 39,431,263. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 75,796 in Hawaii. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $284.5M in Hawaii.

Do California and Hawaii have the same lead industry?

Yes. Both peak in commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels sit on $39.5B in California and $4.1B in Hawaii. Award counts are 639,340 versus 75,796. A shared peak is a mix tag, not evidence that the files are the same size. The figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

Why is Hawaii’s per-capita figure higher?

The packet reports $196.71 per capita in Hawaii on 1,446,146 residents and $135.64 in California on 39,431,263. Stacked stocks are $4.1B versus $39.5B, a smaller multiple than the population gap. Award counts are 75,796 versus 639,340. The packet lists USAspending.gov obligations only.

Are California vs Hawaii figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $39.5B and $4.1B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $5.3B and $284.5M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($135.64 vs $196.71) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.