Does Iowa or South Carolina have more federal spending?

South Carolina leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.85B to Iowa’s $3.84B — a near-tie. Iowa leads spending per capita, $127.17 versus $83.98, on 3,241,488 residents against South Carolina’s 5,478,831. South Carolina has more awards (129,440 vs 48,706). FY2026 obligations are $412.2M in Iowa and $460.1M in South Carolina.

Are Iowa and South Carolina tied on federal obligations?

On stacked stocks, yes for practical purposes: $3.84B versus $3.85B. Award counts are not tied, 48,706 versus 129,440. Spending per capita is $127.17 versus $83.98. FY2026 is $412.2M versus $460.1M. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in Iowa and South Carolina?

Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. South Carolina’s is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.84B and $3.85B. Award counts are 48,706 in Iowa and 129,440 in South Carolina.

Are Iowa vs South Carolina figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $3.84B and $3.85B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $412.2M and $460.1M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($127.17 vs $83.98) uses Census population where present.

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Iowa vs South Carolina on USAspending: $3.84B vs $3.85B

South Carolina accounts for $3.85B in USAspending.gov obligations; Iowa accounts for $3.84B. The stacked stocks are effectively tied. Award counts are not: 129,440 in South Carolina against 48,706 in Iowa. Census counts are 5,478,831 and 3,241,488. Spending per capita favors Iowa, $127.17 versus $83.98. FY2026 dollars favor South Carolina slightly, $460.1M versus $412.2M. Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing; South Carolina’s is biological product manufacturing. The figures are obligations, not outlays.

Key figures

South Carolina $3.85B vs Iowa $3.84B in stacked USAspending obligations — a near-tie.
Iowa per capita $127.17 vs South Carolina $83.98 on 3,241,488 vs 5,478,831 residents.
Awards: 48,706 vs 129,440; FY2026 $412.2M vs $460.1M.
Top industries: wireless communications equipment in Iowa; biological products in South Carolina.
Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

A $10 million stacked gap on two different files

South Carolina’s $3.85B versus Iowa’s $3.84B is about 1.00 times — a rounding-error lead. Population is not a tie: 5,478,831 versus 3,241,488, about 1.69 times. People outrun the dollar near-tie, which is the setup for Iowa’s higher per-capita reading of $127.17 against South Carolina’s $83.98. Cite those ratios as packet figures beside the Census counts.

Award counts belong to South Carolina, 129,440 versus 48,706, about 2.7 times as many rows on essentially the same dollar stock. The Carolina file is busy. Iowa’s 48,706 actions on $3.84B are fewer and still sit beside the hotter per-capita figure.

FY2026 stays in the same neighborhood as the stacked race. $460.1M versus $412.2M is a modest South Carolina recency lead, not a reversal of a large stock gap — because there is no large stock gap.

Wireless equipment versus biological products

Iowa’s lead NAICS is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. South Carolina’s lead NAICS is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those peaks sit on $3.84B and $3.85B. The industry split is sharper than the dollar split. Two nearly identical obligation stocks can still peak in different codes.

The 48,706 Iowa awards and 129,440 South Carolina awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the Iowa and South Carolina state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.

FY2026: $460.1M in South Carolina, $412.2M in Iowa

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $460.1M in South Carolina and $412.2M in Iowa. Recency preserves South Carolina’s hair-thin stacked lead. Treat the year as a recency slice of obligations, not as Treasury cash.

Do not divide $460.1M or $412.2M by 129,440 or 48,706 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $83.98 and $127.17 already sits beside Census counts of 5,478,831 and 3,241,488 in the packet.

South Carolina’s extra people, Iowa’s extra intensity

5,478,831 residents and 129,440 awards make South Carolina look larger on two counts. $3.85B versus $3.84B is a win by a hair on stock. $83.98 versus $127.17 is a loss on intensity. Headcount is not the engine of the per-capita ranking.

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 South Carolina

Read the stacked stocks as a tie for practical purposes ($3.84B vs $3.85B). Read Iowa first on intensity ($127.17 vs $83.98). Read South Carolina first on awards (129,440 vs 48,706), population (5,478,831 vs 3,241,488), and a slim FY2026 lead ($460.1M vs $412.2M). Note wireless equipment versus biological products. All cuts are obligations.

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

A rounding-error stock gap is still an obligation gap

Iowa’s $3.84B and South Carolina’s $3.85B are USAspending.gov obligations that are tied for practical purposes. Radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing versus biological product manufacturing is the industry split that is not tied. FY2026’s $412.2M versus $460.1M is a modest recency lead for South Carolina. Outlays are not listed.

Spending per capita of $127.17 and $83.98 sits beside Census counts of 3,241,488 and 5,478,831. Award counts of 48,706 and 129,440 go to South Carolina on rows. Use the Iowa and South Carolina hubs for agencies and recipients. The comparison hub is the paired obligation view.

South Carolina’s 129,440 awards on $3.85B versus Iowa’s 48,706 awards on $3.84B is the row gap on a stacked near-tie. FY2026 of $460.1M versus $412.2M stays modest. Per capita of $83.98 versus $127.17 sits beside Census counts of 5,478,831 and 3,241,488. Wireless equipment versus biological products is mix. Treat every figure as an obligation.

Questions

Does Iowa or South Carolina have more federal spending?: South Carolina leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.85B to Iowa’s $3.84B — a near-tie. Iowa leads spending per capita, $127.17 versus $83.98, on 3,241,488 residents against South Carolina’s 5,478,831. South Carolina has more awards (129,440 vs 48,706). FY2026 obligations are $412.2M in Iowa and $460.1M in South Carolina.
Are Iowa and South Carolina tied on federal obligations?: On stacked stocks, yes for practical purposes: $3.84B versus $3.85B. Award counts are not tied, 48,706 versus 129,440. Spending per capita is $127.17 versus $83.98. FY2026 is $412.2M versus $460.1M. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
What industries lead in Iowa and South Carolina?: Iowa’s top industry is radio and television broadcasting and wireless communications equipment manufacturing. South Carolina’s is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.84B and $3.85B. Award counts are 48,706 in Iowa and 129,440 in South Carolina.
Are Iowa vs South Carolina figures Treasury outlays?: No. The $3.84B and $3.85B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $412.2M and $460.1M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($127.17 vs $83.98) uses Census population where present.

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