Colorado vs Virginia on USAspending

Few actions, still an $8.1B stock

Colorado’s 91,723 awards are among the lowest action counts in this batch, yet the dollar total matches New Jersey’s $8.1B, a state with more than a million actions. That combination usually means a book with fewer, larger awards rather than a modification factory. Virginia still dwarfs both columns: $110.8B and 1,116,647 actions.

Population does not close the gap. 5,957,493 versus 8,811,195 is a modest headcount difference next to a 1-to-14 dollar difference. Place-of-performance on USAspending.gov, not Colorado’s private tech scene, is what this row records.

Ninety-one thousand seven hundred twenty-three Colorado awards under $8.1B is the opposite of New Jersey’s pattern (many actions, same dollars). Colorado’s file looks like fewer, larger awards. Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards under $110.8B look like a services-modification stack. Both readings are inferences from published columns, not new statistics.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation — the most distinctive NAICS description in this set of 25 pairs. Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Charter freight air is a logistics-and-lift category, not a software category and not a factory category. It can concentrate dollars in a small number of transportation awards, which fits a 91,723-action file sitting under $8.1B.

Top industry is the largest slice, not a claim that every Colorado federal dollar is a charter flight. The packet does not provide a second-ranked industry. For the rest of the mix, use the Colorado state page.

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation is a logistics code, not a passenger-airline code and not an IT code. It is the oddest top-industry label in the assigned 25 pairs, and it belongs in the lede of any careful summary of Colorado versus Virginia. This copy does not name carriers or airfields. It reports the NAICS description next to $8.1B, 91,723 awards, and 5,957,493 residents.

Per-capita $97.34 versus $1,344.24

Colorado’s spending per capita is $97.34. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Dividing $8.1B by 5,957,493 residents produces a low per-person figure, similar to other states in this batch with an $8B-class stock. Per-capita is not a mountain-town stipend and not a tax.

FY 2026 is the latest year tagged. The $8.1B and $110.8B aggregates are broader obligation stocks. They are not a single-year airlift budget.

$97.34 per capita is $8.1B over 5,957,493 people, close to New Jersey’s $92.49 despite New Jersey’s much busier action file. Intensity can look similar while award counts do not. Virginia’s $1,344.24 remains the high mark. FY 2026 is the latest year, not a single-year airlift budget.

How to read a thin action file

Do not rank Colorado “inactive” because 91,723 is far below 1,116,647. Rank it low on actions and mid-low on dollars for this Virginia set. The interesting fact is the combination: $8.1B on a short action list, with charter freight air as the leading industry label.

Cite USAspending.gov. Keep obligations separate from outlays. Open the Colorado and Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. Other pairs live on the comparison index.

Cite USAspending.gov. Keep obligations distinct from outlays. The Colorado and Virginia state pages hold the rest of the industry and agency mix. This pair is the charter-freight-air matchup against Virginia’s computer-related-services hub.

Out of scope

No carrier names, no airfield list, no conversion of $8.1B into sorties. The packet’s facts are obligation totals, award counts, populations, per-capita figures, FY 2026, and the two top-industry labels.

Charter freight air is the Colorado signature

Nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation as Colorado’s top industry is the fact that should not be sanded off into a generic “Western state versus Virginia” summary. It sits next to $8.1B, 91,723 awards, 5,957,493 residents, and $97.34 per capita. Virginia’s other computer related services label sits next to $110.8B, 1,116,647 awards, 8,811,195 residents, and $1,344.24 per capita. A short action file under an $8.1B stock is consistent with fewer, larger awards. This page does not invent an average. Cite USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year. The Colorado and Virginia hubs hold the rest of the mix. Colorado’s 91,723 awards are the volume check on that $8.1B charter-freight-air book.

Questions

How does Colorado federal spending compare with Virginia?

Colorado shows $8.1B in USAspending obligations; Virginia shows $110.8B. Colorado’s population is 5,957,493 versus 8,811,195 in Virginia. Totals are obligations, not Treasury outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year in the pair. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

Why does Colorado have so few federal awards compared with Virginia?

Colorado has 91,723 awards in this aggregate; Virginia has 1,116,647. Colorado’s dollar stock is still $8.1B, so the short action list does not mean a near-zero federal book. Award counts include modifications; they measure actions, not unique vendors. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What is Colorado’s top federal industry vs Virginia?

Colorado’s top industry is nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those NAICS descriptions are the leading slices in SpendingVault’s aggregates, not a complete list of either state’s federal awards. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What is Colorado’s federal spending per capita compared with Virginia?

Colorado’s spending per capita is $97.34. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Both divide USAspending obligations by Census population (5,957,493 and 8,811,195). Per-capita is a scaling statistic, not a payment to residents. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.