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Hawaii vs Washington on USAspending: $4.09B vs $7.34B

Washington accounts for $7.34B in USAspending.gov obligations; Hawaii accounts for $4.09B. Washington also leads on awards (236,821 vs 75,796), population (7,958,180 vs 1,446,146), and FY2026 dollars ($584.6M vs $284.5M). Hawaii leads on intensity: $196.71 per capita against Washington’s $73.46. Both states list commercial and institutional building construction as the top industry. The figures are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Key figures

  • Washington $7.34B vs Hawaii $4.09B in stacked USAspending obligations.
  • Hawaii per capita $196.71 vs Washington $73.46 on 1,446,146 vs 7,958,180 residents.
  • Awards: 75,796 vs 236,821; FY2026 $284.5M vs $584.6M.
  • Both states’ top industry is commercial and institutional building construction.
  • Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

A Pacific stock gap with an island intensity lead

Washington’s $7.34B is about 1.79 times Hawaii’s $4.09B. Population is about 5.50 times: 7,958,180 versus 1,446,146. People outrun dollars by a wide margin, which is why Hawaii’s per-capita figure of $196.71 beats Washington’s $73.46. The island file is smaller on every stock measure and denser on the one ratio that divides dollars by residents.

Award counts track Washington’s scale: 236,821 versus 75,796, about 3.1 times. That is more rows than the dollar multiple and fewer rows than the population multiple. Washington’s file is busy. Hawaii’s 75,796 actions on $4.09B still produce the higher per-person reading because the Census denominator is only 1,446,146.

Unlike some pairs, FY2026 does not hand Hawaii a dollar reversal. $584.6M in Washington versus $284.5M in Hawaii keeps the latest-year ranking with the stacked stock.

Shared construction peaks on two Pacific files

Hawaii’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Washington’s top industry is the same label. A shared NAICS peak means federal building work is the largest slice on $4.09B in Hawaii and on $7.34B in Washington. It does not mean the two files buy the same buildings, from the same agencies, in the same amounts.

Construction can be lumpy. The 75,796 Hawaii awards and 236,821 Washington awards include many actions that are not buildings. Use the Hawaii and Washington state hubs for agencies and recipients rather than treating the construction tag as the entire mix.

FY2026: Washington’s $584.6M versus Hawaii’s $284.5M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $584.6M in Washington and $284.5M in Hawaii. Recency preserves Washington’s dollar lead. Hawaii’s latest-year figure is smaller even while Hawaii keeps the stacked intensity lead of $196.71 versus $73.46. Treat FY2026 as a recency cut of USAspending.gov obligations, not as cash paid.

Do not divide $284.5M or $584.6M by 75,796 or 236,821 all-years awards. Per capita already uses 1,446,146 and 7,958,180 residents against the stacked $4.09B and $7.34B.

What 7.96 million residents do not buy

Washington’s 7,958,180 residents dwarf Hawaii’s 1,446,146, and $7.34B dwarfs $4.09B on stock. The per-person ranking still belongs to Hawaii. $73.46 versus $196.71 is federal-award intensity, not a ranking of ports, tech payrolls, or island tourism. Award counts of 236,821 and 75,796 describe the action files, not household receipts.

Keep both per-capita figures labeled as stacked USAspending.gov obligations divided by Census counts. They are not outlays per resident.

How to read Hawaii versus Washington

Read Washington first on stock ($7.34B, 236,821 awards, 7,958,180 people) and on FY2026 ($584.6M vs $284.5M). Read Hawaii first on intensity ($196.71 vs $73.46). Note the shared commercial and institutional building construction lead. None of those cuts is an outlay.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The Hawaii and Washington hubs hold agencies and recipients. Monthly Treasury Statement payments are a different series.

Two Pacific construction peaks, one obligation series

Hawaii’s $4.09B and Washington’s $7.34B are USAspending.gov obligations. Both peak in commercial and institutional building construction. A shared label does not merge the files. FY2026’s $284.5M versus $584.6M keeps Washington ahead on recency. Outlays are not listed.

Spending per capita of $196.71 and $73.46 sits beside Census counts of 1,446,146 and 7,958,180. Award counts of 75,796 and 236,821 show Washington’s file is much busier. Intensity still belongs to Hawaii. Follow the Hawaii and Washington hubs for agencies and recipients rather than treating the construction tag as a complete mix.

Washington’s 236,821 awards and 7,958,180 residents make Hawaii’s 75,796 awards and 1,446,146 residents look small on stock. They are not small on intensity: $196.71 versus $73.46. FY2026 of $284.5M versus $584.6M keeps recency with the $4.09B versus $7.34B stacked ranking. The shared construction label does not merge those four cuts.

Questions

Does Hawaii or Washington have more federal spending?
Washington leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $7.34B to Hawaii’s $4.09B. Hawaii leads spending per capita, $196.71 versus $73.46, on 1,446,146 residents against Washington’s 7,958,180. Washington has more awards (236,821 vs 75,796). FY2026 obligations are $284.5M in Hawaii and $584.6M in Washington.
Why is Hawaii’s per-capita federal spending higher than Washington’s?
The packet reports $196.71 per capita in Hawaii on 1,446,146 residents and $73.46 in Washington on 7,958,180. Washington has more people and more awards (236,821 vs 75,796). Stacked obligations are $4.09B versus $7.34B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
Do Hawaii and Washington have the same top industry?
Yes. Both list commercial and institutional building construction as the top industry. The comparison is scale and intensity on $4.09B versus $7.34B, not a different lead NAICS. Award counts are 75,796 in Hawaii and 236,821 in Washington.
Are Hawaii vs Washington figures Treasury outlays?
No. The $4.09B and $7.34B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $284.5M and $584.6M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($196.71 vs $73.46) uses Census population against those obligations.

State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.