Connecticut vs New Jersey on USAspending: $7.5B vs $8.1B

Neighboring dollars, a 12-to-1 award file

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. New Jersey’s $8.1B edges Connecticut’s $7.5B. Place of performance in the award file is the scoring rule. Two Northeast states with stocks in the same $8 billion band still produce files that do not look alike once rows are counted.

Connecticut’s $7,483,687,896 sits on 94,990 records. New Jersey’s $8,084,032,234 is spread across 1,162,765 actions. That is more than twelve New Jersey awards for each Connecticut award. Dollars are close; paperwork volume is not. The $8.1B versus $7.5B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.

New Jersey’s 1,162,765 awards versus Connecticut’s 94,990 awards is a paperwork class difference, not a rounding error. Stocks of $8,084,032,234 and $7,483,687,896 stay in the same billion. People of 9,500,851 versus 3,675,069 produce $92.49 versus $266.81. FY2026 of $878,702,039 versus $980,534,818 already favors Connecticut. Aircraft parts versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing is mix inside those files.

Connecticut’s $266.81 against New Jersey’s $92.49

New Jersey’s 9,500,851 residents exceed Connecticut’s 3,675,069 by a wide margin. After dividing the obligation stocks by those Census counts, Connecticut shows $266.81 per capita and New Jersey shows $92.49. Intensity in Connecticut is nearly three times New Jersey’s even though New Jersey holds the larger stacked total.

A $266.81 per-person reading on 3,675,069 residents is an intensity fact attached to $7.5B. New Jersey’s $92.49 on 9,500,851 residents is attached to $8.1B. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. Close stocks can hide a 12-to-1 row gap and a large intensity gap pointing the other way.

Aircraft parts versus pharmaceutical preparation

Connecticut’s top industry is other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing. New Jersey’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those NAICS labels mark the largest grouping in each state’s file. Aircraft-parts awards and drug-manufacturing awards are different lead products sitting on stocks $600 million apart.

An aircraft-parts lead inside Connecticut’s 94,990-award file can concentrate auxiliary equipment without explaining every dollar. 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 is the entire $7.5B or $8.1B.

FY2026: Connecticut $980.5M, New Jersey $878.7M

FY2026 obligations are $980,534,818 in Connecticut and $878,702,039 in New Jersey. Connecticut leads the latest year, reversing the stacked ranking. Recency questions belong in FY2026. The $7.5B and $8.1B totals remain the full USAspending.gov aggregate this comparison uses. Both years are obligations, not outlays.

Do not divide those FY figures by Connecticut’s 94,990 or New Jersey’s 1,162,765 all-years awards. Per capita of $266.81 on 3,675,069 residents versus $92.49 on 9,500,851 residents is the intensity comparison. FY2026 is the cut that already favors Connecticut. Stacked totals still favor New Jersey.

Connecticut’s $980,534,818 FY2026 versus New Jersey’s $878,702,039 is a recency lead on stocks of $7,483,687,896 versus $8,084,032,234. 94,990 awards versus 1,162,765 awards remain the paperwork gulf. 3,675,069 residents versus 9,500,851 residents produce $266.81 versus $92.49. Do not fold the latest year into the stacked ranking.

A dollar lead that does not travel

New Jersey leads stacked dollars ($8.1B vs $7.5B), award count (1,162,765 vs 94,990), and population (9,500,851 vs 3,675,069). Connecticut leads per capita ($266.81 vs $92.49) and FY2026 ($980.5M vs $878.7M). Those splits are why a $600 million stacked gap is a poor summary of the pair.

Other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing is mix inside files that contain many other industries. Use the Connecticut and New Jersey hubs for agencies and recipients. Keep both stocks labeled as USAspending.gov obligations.

Northeast neighbors with inverted paperwork

Connecticut and New Jersey sit in the same region and in the same $8 billion band ($7,483,687,896 vs $8,084,032,234). The files do not. New Jersey’s 1,162,765 awards versus Connecticut’s 94,990 is a 12-to-1 paperwork split. Per capita of $266.81 versus $92.49 is the intensity split that follows from 3,675,069 versus 9,500,851 residents.

FY2026 of $980,534,818 versus $878,702,039 already favors Connecticut. That recency lead does not erase New Jersey’s stacked lead. Aircraft parts versus pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing is mix, not a full industrial map. Obligations remain obligations.

Questions

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

New Jersey leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $8,084,032,234 versus Connecticut’s $7,483,687,896. New Jersey has far more awards (1,162,765 vs 94,990) and more people (9,500,851 vs 3,675,069). Spending per capita is $266.81 in Connecticut and $92.49 in New Jersey. FY2026 obligations are $980.5M and $878.7M. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Does Connecticut outpace New Jersey in the latest fiscal year?

Yes on FY2026 obligations: $980,534,818 in Connecticut versus $878,702,039 in New Jersey. The stacked ranking still favors New Jersey ($8.1B vs $7.5B). Per capita is $266.81 versus $92.49. Award counts are 94,990 and 1,162,765. Populations are 3,675,069 and 9,500,851.

What industries lead Connecticut and New Jersey federal awards?

Connecticut’s top industry is other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing. New Jersey’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those slices sit on $7.5B and $8.1B obligation stocks. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 94,990 in Connecticut and 1,162,765 in New Jersey.

Are Connecticut vs New Jersey figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $7.5B and $8.1B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $980.5M and $878.7M measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.