Colorado vs New Jersey on USAspending: $8.1B vs $8.1B

Two $8.1B stocks, a 12-to-1 row gap

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. New Jersey’s $8.1B edges Colorado’s $8.1B by a thin margin. The comparison scores place of performance in the award file. Among two states with nearly identical dollar stocks, the files diverge most on rows: 1,162,765 awards in New Jersey versus 91,723 in Colorado.

That row gap implies a much heavier typical booking in Colorado. New Jersey’s $8.1B is spread across more than a million actions. Colorado’s $8.1B sits on 91,723 records. Dollars are tied; paperwork volume is not. The $8.1B versus $8.1B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.

Close per capita: $97.34 versus $92.49

New Jersey’s 9,500,851 residents exceed Colorado’s 5,957,493. After dividing the obligation stocks by those Census counts, Colorado shows $97.34 per capita and New Jersey shows $92.49. Intensity is close even though New Jersey has more people. This pair is not a high-versus-low intensity contest.

A $97.34 per-person reading in Colorado on 5,957,493 residents is an intensity fact attached to $8.1B. New Jersey’s $92.49 on 9,500,851 residents is attached to $8.1B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. Similar intensity and similar stocks can still hide a 12-to-1 row gap.

Chartered freight air in Colorado, pharmaceuticals in New Jersey

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. New Jersey’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those labels mark the largest NAICS slice in each state’s file, not a full industrial census. Charter-freight awards and drug-manufacturing awards are different lead products sitting on two $8.1B stocks.

A chartered-freight lead can concentrate large transportation awards inside Colorado’s 91,723-award file. A pharmaceutical-preparation lead inside New Jersey’s 1,162,765-award file can sit among many smaller actions. Mix and scale both differ. Neither industry name explains every dollar.

FY2026: $579.9M in Colorado vs $878.7M in New Jersey

FY2026 obligations are $579.9M in Colorado and $878.7M in New Jersey. New Jersey’s latest year remains ahead, widening a stacked ranking that is otherwise tied. Recency questions belong in FY2026. The stacked totals remain the full USAspending.gov aggregate this comparison uses. Both years are obligations, not outlays.

Do not divide those FY figures by Colorado’s 91,723 or New Jersey’s 1,162,765 all-years awards. Per capita of $97.34 on 5,957,493 residents versus $92.49 on 9,500,851 residents is the intensity comparison. Both cuts are USAspending.gov obligations.

A dollar tie with inverted rows

New Jersey leads stacked dollars by a thin margin ($8.1B vs $8.1B), award count (1,162,765 vs 91,723), population (9,500,851 vs 5,957,493), and FY2026 ($878.7M vs $579.9M). Colorado leads per capita ($97.34 vs $92.49) by a modest edge. The distinctive fact is the row inversion on matched dollars.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing is mix inside files that contain many other industries. Use the Colorado and New Jersey hubs for agencies and recipients. Keep both $8.1B figures labeled as obligations.

How to use the Colorado and New Jersey hubs

Two $8.1B stocks with 91,723 versus 1,162,765 awards is a dollar tie with a roughly 12-to-1 row gap. Per capita of $97.34 versus $92.49 on 5,957,493 and 9,500,851 residents is close. FY2026’s $579.9M versus $878.7M favors New Jersey. Open the Colorado hub and the New Jersey hub for agencies and recipients. Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing is mix.

These are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. Do not divide latest-year dollars by all-years award counts. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits. Use the hubs for the next drill-down. Keep both $8.1B figures labeled as obligations so similar intensity and similar stocks are not mistaken for similar typical booking. Colorado’s thinner row count is the distinctive fact.

Colorado versus New Jersey is a dollar tie of $8.1B versus $8.1B with 91,723 awards versus 1,162,765. Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation and pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing are lead slices. FY2026 of $579.9M versus $878.7M favors New Jersey. Per capita of $97.34 versus $92.49 on 5,957,493 and 9,500,851 residents is close. Obligations remain the unit. The Colorado and New Jersey hubs hold the next tables. Matched dollars are not matched rows. Two $8.1B stocks with 91,723 versus 1,162,765 awards are a dollar tie with a 12-to-1 row gap. Per capita of $97.34 versus $92.49 on 5,957,493 and 9,500,851 residents is close. FY2026’s $579.9M versus $878.7M favors New Jersey. Chartered freight air versus pharmaceuticals is mix.

Questions

Which state has more federal spending, Colorado or New Jersey?

New Jersey leads by a thin margin in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $8.1B versus Colorado’s $8.1B. New Jersey has far more awards (1,162,765 vs 91,723) and more people (9,500,851 vs 5,957,493). Spending per capita is $97.34 in Colorado and $92.49 in New Jersey. FY2026 obligations are $579.9M and $878.7M. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Why does New Jersey have so many more awards than Colorado on similar dollars?

New Jersey logs 1,162,765 awards on $8.1B. Colorado logs 91,723 awards on $8.1B. New Jersey’s file is busier in rows on a matched stock, which implies a smaller typical booking. Per capita is close ($92.49 vs $97.34). Populations are 9,500,851 and 5,957,493. FY2026 favors New Jersey ($878.7M vs $579.9M).

What industries lead Colorado and New Jersey federal awards?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. New Jersey’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those slices sit on two $8.1B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 91,723 in Colorado and 1,162,765 in New Jersey.

Are Colorado vs New Jersey figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The two $8.1B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $878.7M measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits.