Iowa vs Kentucky on USAspending: $3.84B vs $3.82B

Iowa’s stock hair, Kentucky’s courier volume

Iowa’s $3.84B is about 1.01 times Kentucky’s $3.82B. Population favors Kentucky, 4,588,372 versus 3,241,488. Intensity stays in a narrow band: $127.17 in Iowa and $142.10 in Kentucky, packet figures beside those Census counts. The stacked race is a photo finish. The row-count race is not.

Kentucky’s 140,157 awards versus Iowa’s 48,706 is about 2.9 times as many actions on essentially the same dollar stock. Courier and express work can generate many rows. Iowa’s 48,706 actions on $3.84B are fewer and still sit beside a per-capita reading within about $15 of Kentucky’s.

FY2026 then stretches Kentucky’s dollar lead. $652.0M versus $412.2M is a larger gap than the stacked hair-split. Iowa’s 48,706 awards versus Kentucky’s 140,157 awards is the courier-shaped gap on $3.84B versus $3.82B; $127.17 versus $142.10 stays close while $412.2M versus $652.0M does not.

Wireless equipment versus couriers

Iowa’s lead NAICS is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. Kentucky’s lead NAICS is couriers and express delivery services. Those peaks sit on $3.84B and $3.82B. The industry split explains more about award counts than about the near-tied stocks.

The 48,706 Iowa awards and 140,157 Kentucky awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the Iowa and Kentucky state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.

FY2026: Kentucky’s $652.0M versus Iowa’s $412.2M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $652.0M in Kentucky and $412.2M in Iowa. Recency is the ranking Kentucky wins after a stacked near-tie. Treat the year as a recency slice of obligations, not as Treasury cash.

Do not divide $652.0M or $412.2M by 140,157 or 48,706 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $142.10 and $127.17 already sits beside Census counts of 4,588,372 and 3,241,488 in the packet.

Close ratios, un-close award counts

$127.17 versus $142.10 is a modest intensity gap. $3.84B versus $3.82B is a modest stock gap. 48,706 versus 140,157 is not modest. Kentucky’s courier-heavy file is loud in rows without leading the stacked stock.

Keep those per-capita figures labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations. They are not outlays per resident.

How to read Iowa versus Kentucky

Read the stacked stocks as a near-tie ($3.84B vs $3.82B) and per capita as close ($127.17 vs $142.10). Read Kentucky first on awards (140,157 vs 48,706), population (4,588,372 vs 3,241,488), and FY2026 ($652.0M vs $412.2M). Note wireless equipment versus couriers. All cuts are obligations.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The Iowa and Kentucky hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are a different series.

A hair-thin stock lead and a courier row count

Iowa’s $3.84B and Kentucky’s $3.82B are USAspending.gov obligations. Radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing versus couriers and express delivery services is the industry split. Award counts of 48,706 and 140,157 show Kentucky’s file is loud in rows on the same dollar shelf. FY2026’s $412.2M versus $652.0M is recency Kentucky wins.

Spending per capita of $127.17 and $142.10 sits beside Census counts of 3,241,488 and 4,588,372. Use the Iowa and Kentucky hubs for agencies and recipients. Outlays are not in this packet. The comparison hub is the side-by-side obligation view.

Kentucky’s 140,157 awards on $3.82B versus Iowa’s 48,706 awards on $3.84B is the row gap on a stacked near-tie. FY2026 of $652.0M versus $412.2M goes to Kentucky. Per capita of $142.10 versus $127.17 stays close. Wireless equipment versus couriers is mix. Census counts of 3,241,488 and 4,588,372 sit beside those packet ratios.

Questions

Does Iowa or Kentucky have more federal spending?

Iowa leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.84B to Kentucky’s $3.82B — a near-tie. Kentucky leads spending per capita slightly, $142.10 versus $127.17, on 4,588,372 residents against Iowa’s 3,241,488. Kentucky has far more awards (140,157 vs 48,706). FY2026 obligations are $412.2M in Iowa and $652.0M in Kentucky.

Why does Kentucky have so many more awards than Iowa?

Kentucky’s award count is 140,157 against Iowa’s 48,706. Kentucky’s top industry is couriers and express delivery services. Stacked obligations still favor Iowa by a hair, $3.84B to $3.82B. Spending per capita is $127.17 versus $142.10. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in Iowa and Kentucky?

Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. Kentucky’s is couriers and express delivery services. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.84B and $3.82B. Award counts are 48,706 in Iowa and 140,157 in Kentucky.

Are Iowa vs Kentucky figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $3.84B and $3.82B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $412.2M and $652.0M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($127.17 vs $142.10) uses Census population where present.