Metropolitan and non-metropolitan transportation planning — CFDA 20.505

A $552.4M planning listing that does not split metro from rural

USAspending.gov records $552.4M in obligations on assistance awards tagged 20.505. The official title covers metropolitan transportation planning and state and non-metropolitan planning and research under one CFDA number. The packet does not separate those activities inside the $552.4M. This guide will not invent a metro-only share. SpendingVault reprints the combined obligation sum as a catalog total, not as a construction program.

No fiscal year is attached. Planning awards often fund staff and studies rather than concrete. That purpose is a title clue, not a line-item in this extract. If an MPO budget cites a different federal planning total, match the assistance-listing number before adding that budget to $552.4M. Other transit or highway construction CFDAs are other rows.

Seven hundred thirty-three awards at this dollar scale is a mid-to-high volume file for a planning listing. The packet has no median award size. Do not divide $552.4M by 733 and publish the quotient as a typical planning grant. Amount-sort on the hub is the check. Research versus planning-work program dollars are not split here.

733 awards on only 94 recipient identifiers

Ninety-four recipients hold 733 awards — far more rows than organizations. That pattern is compatible with annual continuations to the same MPOs or state planning agencies. The packet does not prove that explanation and does not classify the 94. Award count is a row count; recipient count is distinct identifiers, not a count of metropolitan planning organizations in statute.

A 94-recipient list is short enough to scan. Repeat names across 733 rows are expected if the same identifier is funded year after year. Repeat appearance is a fact about the extract, not a finding about plan quality. UPWP documents, model runs, and public-comment counts are not in this packet.

51 states on the 20.505 extract

The file counts 51 states. USAspending state counts can include the District of Columbia or another jurisdiction treated as a state; the packet does not name which 51 appear. Coverage is wide. Wide coverage is not even coverage. The $552.4M has no per-state split here.

Place of performance for a statewide planning award may be the capital. Place of performance for a metro award may be the MPO’s host city. This packet does not say which location field fed the count of 51. Use award-level geography on the hub if a particular region is the question. Do not read 51 as a census of every MPO boundary.

Planning obligations are not construction outlays

Transportation construction listings are separate catalog numbers. CFDA 20.505’s $552.4M is planning and research assistance as named on this listing. Adding it to a highway-construction CFDA would mix a study-and-staff total with a build total. Keep 20.505 on its own row on the all-programs index.

Outlays to planning agencies are a separate USAspending field. This rollup does not substitute them. Multi-year planning agreements can obligate and draw on different schedules. Cite $552.4M as recorded commitments on 733 awards. Do not describe the sum as money already spent on concrete or rolling stock.

What not to fold into 20.505

Statewide freight plans, transit-agency capital grants, and formula highway programs can appear in the same budget conversation as metropolitan planning. They are not this CFDA number unless the award is tagged 20.505. Folding them into $552.4M would create a homemade “all planning and building” figure the packet does not support. Match the listing number on any MPO grant letter before comparing dollars.

Opening the 20.505 table

The program page for this planning listing holds the 733 award rows and 94 recipients behind $552.4M. Filter by recipient name if a particular MPO or state agency is the question. Agency pages are a different USAspending cut; this packet does not name the awarding agency, so the $552.4M stays on the CFDA card. The all-programs index compares catalog scale without merging metro-planning dollars into construction totals. Adopted long-range plans remain a different publication than this obligation extract. Staffing charts in an MPO office are not this $552.4M.

Questions

How much is obligated under CFDA 20.505?

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND STATE AND NON-METROPOLITAN PLANNING AND RESEARCH shows $552.4M in USAspending.gov obligations in SpendingVault’s extract. The figure is a commitment total, not outlays and not a count of plans adopted. The extract does not split metro from non-metro dollars.

How many planning awards and agencies are in the file?

The extract lists 733 awards and 94 recipients. Recipient count is distinct identifiers, not a statutory census of MPOs. High award counts often include continuations stacked on the same identifier. USAspending.gov obligations on CFDA 20.505 are recorded commitments, not Treasury outlays.

Does CFDA 20.505 reach every state?

The extract counts 51 states, a figure that can include the District of Columbia. The packet does not name them or split the $552.4M by state, and it does not map every MPO boundary. USAspending.gov obligations on CFDA 20.505 are recorded commitments, not Treasury outlays.

Is $552.4M construction money for metro areas?

No. This listing is planning and research as named on the CFDA title. The $552.4M is assistance-award obligations, not construction outlays and not a transit-capital total. USAspending.gov obligations on CFDA 20.505 are recorded commitments, not Treasury outlays.