Colorado vs Utah on USAspending: $8.05B vs $4.06B

Colorado’s larger stock sits on a cooler per-person ratio

Colorado’s $8.05B is about 1.98 times Utah’s $4.06B on the stacked USAspending.gov file. Population is closer: 5,957,493 versus 3,503,613, or about 1.70 times. Dollars outrun people, which is why Colorado still trails on intensity. Dividing those obligation stocks by Census counts yields $97.34 per person in Colorado and $199.06 in Utah. A smaller mountain-west file can still post the higher ratio.

Award volume tells a third story. Colorado’s 91,723 awards dwarf Utah’s 26,509. The Front Range file is busier in rows and larger in dollars, yet each Utah resident still maps to more obligated federal dollars. Do not divide $8.05B or $4.06B by those award counts and call the result a typical award; the packet reports per capita against population, not against actions.

The pair therefore splits three ways before FY2026 even enters: stacked dollars and award rows to Colorado, per-capita intensity to Utah. That split is the headline, not a claim about which state’s private economy is larger.

Chartered freight air versus nonferrous metal work

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Utah’s top industry is nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, and extruding. Those NAICS labels are the tallest bars on each state’s obligation mix, not a description of every award. Colorado’s 91,723 actions and Utah’s 26,509 actions include many rows that are neither air charters nor metal mills.

A freight-air peak on $8.05B and a metal-working peak on $4.06B are useful as a first filter. They are not a full industry census. Use the Colorado and Utah state hubs for agencies and recipients if the lead NAICS is only a starting point. Both peaks sit on obligations, not cash outlays.

FY2026 flips the dollar ranking: $697.4M in Utah

The latest fiscal year in the packet is 2026. Utah’s FY2026 obligations are $697.4M; Colorado’s are $579.9M. That is the opposite of the stacked $8.05B versus $4.06B ranking. Recency favors Utah on dollars even while the multi-year stock still favors Colorado. Treat FY2026 as a cut of the same USAspending.gov series, not as a forecast and not as a Treasury payment tape.

Do not divide $579.9M or $697.4M by 91,723 or 26,509 all-years awards. Those award counts cover the stacked file. Per capita of $97.34 and $199.06 already uses 5,957,493 and 3,503,613 residents against the stacked totals. FY2026 is recency, not a replacement denominator.

What the Census counts do and do not explain

Colorado’s 5,957,493 residents exceed Utah’s 3,503,613, and Colorado’s $8.05B exceeds Utah’s $4.06B, but the per-person gap still runs the other way. Utah’s $199.06 is more than double Colorado’s $97.34. Population scaling alone would not have predicted Utah’s intensity lead, and it would not have predicted Utah’s FY2026 dollar lead of $697.4M versus $579.9M.

Keep the labels tight. $97.34 and $199.06 are stacked USAspending.gov obligations divided by Census counts. They are not income, GDP, or outlays. Award counts of 91,723 and 26,509 describe how many actions landed in the file, not how many people received a check.

How to read Colorado versus Utah

Start with the stacked gap ($8.05B vs $4.06B), then the intensity inversion ($97.34 vs $199.06), then the award-count gap (91,723 vs 26,509). Note the industry split: chartered freight air in Colorado, nonferrous metal rolling in Utah. Check FY2026 last, because $697.4M versus $579.9M reverses the dollar ranking. Every cut is an obligation figure.

The comparison hub holds the side-by-side tables. The Colorado and Utah hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are a different Treasury series and are not in this packet.

What this table is not: a cash scoreboard

Colorado’s $8.05B and Utah’s $4.06B are USAspending.gov obligations. They record commitments, not checks cleared. FY2026’s $579.9M versus $697.4M is the same series cut to the latest year. A reader who wants Treasury outlays will not find them in this pair. The comparison hub still earns its keep by putting those obligation stocks next to 91,723 and 26,509 awards and next to Census counts of 5,957,493 and 3,503,613.

Spending per capita of $97.34 and $199.06 uses those Census counts. It does not convert obligations into income, and it does not convert them into outlays. Chartered freight air in Colorado and nonferrous metal rolling in Utah remain first filters on the mix, not a claim that every row is a cargo flight or a mill product. Follow the Colorado and Utah hubs for agencies and recipients if the NAICS peak is only a starting point.

Questions

Does Colorado or Utah have more federal spending?

Colorado leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $8.05B to Utah’s $4.06B. Utah leads spending per capita, $199.06 versus $97.34, on 3,503,613 residents against Colorado’s 5,957,493. Colorado has more awards (91,723 vs 26,509). In FY2026 Utah leads on dollars, $697.4M versus $579.9M. These figures are obligations, not outlays.

Why is Utah’s per-capita federal spending higher than Colorado’s?

The packet reports $199.06 per capita in Utah on 3,503,613 residents and $97.34 in Colorado on 5,957,493. Colorado has more people and more awards (91,723 vs 26,509). Stacked obligations are $8.05B versus $4.06B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What are the top industries in Colorado and Utah federal awards?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Utah’s is nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, and extruding. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $8.05B and $4.06B, not the full mix. Award counts are 91,723 in Colorado and 26,509 in Utah.

Are Colorado vs Utah spending figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $8.05B and $4.06B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $579.9M and $697.4M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($97.34 vs $199.06) uses Census population against those obligations, not against outlays.