Colorado vs Georgia on USAspending: $8.1B vs $9.7B, nearly tied per person

A close dollar race on uneven population

Georgia’s $9.7B versus Colorado’s $8.1B is about a 1.2× gap in USAspending.gov obligations. Population is about 1.9× (11,180,878 vs 5,957,493). Because people diverge more than dollars, Colorado edges the per-capita reading, $97.34 to $95.66. That is a small intensity difference on two mid-size files, not an inversion of the dollar ranking.

Award counts do invert relative to per capita. Georgia has 278,028 awards; Colorado has 91,723. Georgia’s file is busier in rows on a similar dollar stock. Colorado’s 91,723 actions on $8.1B imply a heavier typical booking than Georgia’s 278,028 actions on $9.7B. Dollars, rows, and per-person intensity tell three slightly different stories.

Colorado’s 91,723 awards on $8.1B and Georgia’s 278,028 awards on $9.7B mean Georgia’s file is much busier for only a modest dollar edge. That is the row story hiding under the per-capita near-tie of $97.34 and $95.66.

Charter freight in Colorado, aircraft manufacturing in Georgia

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Georgia’s is aircraft manufacturing. Both sit in the air-and-aerospace neighborhood, but they are not the same NAICS peak. One is charter freight; the other is building aircraft. Those labels ride on $8.1B and $9.7B, not on a shared production line.

An aircraft-manufacturing lead can concentrate large production awards inside Georgia’s 278,028 rows. A charter-freight lead can mark a different kind of air award inside Colorado’s 91,723 rows. Treat each as the tallest bar, then use the Colorado and Georgia state hubs for agencies and recipients.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation and aircraft manufacturing are related only at the level of “air.” They are different NAICS peaks on 5,957,493 and 11,180,878 residents. FY2026’s $579.9M versus $1.1B is Georgia’s stronger recency lead on the same obligations series, not a Treasury outlay.

FY2026: $579.9M in Colorado, $1.1B in Georgia

FY2026 obligations are $579.9M in Colorado and $1.1B in Georgia. Georgia’s latest-year lead is wider than its stacked $9.7B versus $8.1B edge. Recency therefore favors Georgia more than the all-years stock does. Colorado’s $579.9M remains a substantial single-year booking on a $8.1B file.

Do not divide those FY2026 amounts by 91,723 or 278,028 all-years awards. Per capita of $97.34 and $95.66 already uses 5,957,493 and 11,180,878 residents against the stacked obligations. FY2026 is the recency slice of the same USAspending.gov series, not an outlay statement.

Near-tie per capita is still two different files

$97.34 versus $95.66 can look interchangeable in a headline. The underlying files are not. Georgia has nearly twice Colorado’s people (11,180,878 vs 5,957,493), more than twice the awards (278,028 vs 91,723), and a different lead industry. The per-capita near-tie is the interesting fact; it is not a claim that the two states booked the same mix.

Obligations are commitments. Outlays can lag. Place of performance can differ from headquarters. Keep $8.1B and $9.7B labeled as USAspending.gov obligations.

How to read Colorado versus Georgia

Start with the modest dollar gap ($8.1B vs $9.7B), note the per-capita near-tie ($97.34 vs $95.66), then the award-count gap (91,723 vs 278,028). Add the mix: nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation versus aircraft manufacturing. Finish with FY2026 ($579.9M vs $1.1B).

The comparison hub holds the side-by-side tables. The Colorado and Georgia hubs hold the agency and recipient detail. None of those pages convert obligations into Treasury outlays.

Three rankings that refuse to collapse into one

Georgia leads dollars ($9.7B vs $8.1B) and award count (278,028 vs 91,723). Colorado leads spending per capita by a hair ($97.34 vs $95.66) on 5,957,493 residents against 11,180,878. Those three rankings cannot be summarized as “Georgia wins.” They can be summarized as a close dollar race on uneven population, with Georgia’s file busier in rows.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation versus aircraft manufacturing is the mix note on $8.1B and $9.7B. FY2026’s $579.9M versus $1.1B is the recency note. Neither mix nor recency converts USAspending.gov obligations into Treasury outlays. Use the Colorado and Georgia hubs when the question is agencies or recipients rather than the statewide scoreboard.

Questions

Does Georgia or Colorado have more federal spending?

Georgia leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $9.7B to Colorado’s $8.1B. Colorado slightly leads spending per capita, $97.34 versus $95.66, on 5,957,493 residents against Georgia’s 11,180,878. Georgia has more awards (278,028 vs 91,723). FY2026 obligations are $1.1B in Georgia and $579.9M in Colorado.

Why are Colorado and Georgia so close on spending per capita?

Georgia’s $9.7B on 11,180,878 residents yields $95.66 per capita. Colorado’s $8.1B on 5,957,493 residents yields $97.34. Population is nearly double in Georgia while dollars are only about 20% higher, which compresses the per-person gap. Award counts (278,028 vs 91,723) still favor Georgia.

What industries lead Colorado and Georgia federal awards?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Georgia’s is aircraft manufacturing. Those peaks sit on $8.1B and $9.7B in obligations. They are the largest industry slices, not a full account of 91,723 Colorado awards or 278,028 Georgia awards.

Are Colorado vs Georgia figures outlays?

No. The $8.1B and $9.7B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $1.1B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($97.34 vs $95.66) uses Census population against obligations. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.