Indiana vs Virginia on USAspending: similar population, unlike dollars

Nearly as many people, a fraction of the obligations

Indiana’s 6,924,275 residents are about 79 percent of Virginia’s 8,811,195. Indiana’s $3.8B in obligations is about 3 percent of Virginia’s $110.8B. USAspending.gov is counting obligations — agency commitments on awards — not Treasury outlays. The population-versus-dollars mismatch is the headline of this pair.

Award counts move with the dollars more than with the people. Indiana has 58,316 awards; Virginia has 1,116,647. Indiana runs a manufacturing-and-logistics economy that does win federal work. It does not run Virginia’s density of federal professional-services awards.

Eighty dollars per person vs more than a thousand

Spending per capita of $80.53 in Indiana and $1,344.24 in Virginia is the cleanest single comparison in the table. It already adjusts for the 6,924,275 vs 8,811,195 population difference. After that adjustment, Virginia still shows more than sixteen times Indiana’s per-resident obligation load.

State-total rankings hide this. A reader who only sees $3.8B vs $110.8B might assume Indiana is simply smaller. The Census counts say otherwise. Intensity, not just size, separates the two files.

Put the two Census counts on the table again: 6,924,275 in Indiana and 8,811,195 in Virginia. That is a modest population gap by U.S. state standards. Then put $3.8B next to $110.8B and 58,316 awards next to 1,116,647. The per-capita pair of $80.53 versus $1,344.24 is simply those dollars divided by those people. Nothing in the comparison claims Indiana lacks a private manufacturing base. The comparison claims that federal award obligations with an Indiana place of performance sum to $3.8B in this USAspending.gov aggregate, while Virginia’s sum to $110.8B. Construction as Indiana’s top industry and other computer related services as Virginia’s top industry name the largest slices of unlike files.

Building construction vs computer services

Indiana’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Federal construction actions in Indiana can be large and lumpy; Virginia’s lead slice is the IT-services work that fills the National Capital contractor market.

Those labels sit on 58,316 Indiana awards and 1,116,647 Virginia awards. Construction as a top slice often means fewer, bigger bricks-and-mortar actions. Computer-related services as a top slice often means many billable-hour awards. The counts fit that pattern.

FY2026 bookings: $557.6M vs $11.8B

FY2026 obligations are $557.6M in Indiana and $11.8B in Virginia. Indiana’s latest year is a sizable piece of its $3.8B stack; Virginia’s $11.8B is one year inside $110.8B. Recent-year questions belong in the FY2026 column. All-years questions belong in the stacked totals. Both columns are obligations from USAspending.gov.

Indiana’s $557.6M in FY2026 is a sizable piece of $3.8B and still a small piece of Virginia’s $11.8B latest year. Construction awards can be obligated when a building is funded and then pay out while the stacked $3.8B continues to include earlier projects. That lag is one reason Indiana’s 58,316 all-years awards should not be read as 58,316 actions in FY2026. Per capita remains $80.53 on 6,924,275 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195. The unit in both the latest-year and stacked columns is USAspending.gov obligations.

What the Indiana–Virginia table leaves out

This comparison does not measure which state has a larger economy, a larger Guard presence, or a larger share of federal civilian jobs. It measures award obligations with a place of performance in each state. Outlays can follow later. Open the Indiana and Virginia state pages for agencies and recipients, and keep $3.8B vs $110.8B labeled as obligations. Indiana’s $3.8B and Virginia’s $110.8B should be compared as obligations with a place of performance in each state. Headquarters of a firm, location of a federal civilian workforce, and location of a Guard unit are separate geographies. This table does not merge them.

Indiana’s near-peer population is the control that fails. 6,924,275 people do not produce a $110.8B file. They produce $3.8B in this aggregate, 58,316 awards, and a construction lead. Virginia’s other computer related services lead sits on a different industrial geography. Do not convert either total into jobs, tax refunds, or Treasury outlays. Use the Indiana and Virginia hubs for the recipient lists behind the dollars.

Why Indiana’s headcount does not rescue the dollar ranking

A reader who knows Indiana’s 6,924,275 people sit close to Virginia’s 8,811,195 may expect the obligation files to sit close as well. They do not: $3.8B versus $110.8B, 58,316 versus 1,116,647 awards, $80.53 versus $1,344.24 per capita. Population is the control variable that fails to explain the gap.

FY2026 ($557.6M vs $11.8B) keeps the same order. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services names the largest industry slice on each side. USAspending.gov obligations remain the unit. Treasury outlays are not substituted in.

Questions

How does Indiana compare with Virginia on federal contract spending?

Indiana has $3.8B in USAspending.gov obligations and 58,316 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Census populations are close relative to that dollar gap: 6,924,275 and 8,811,195. Spending per capita is $80.53 versus $1,344.24. FY2026 obligations are $557.6M and $11.8B. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Why does Indiana have so much less federal spending than Virginia if the populations are similar?

Indiana’s 6,924,275 people are not far below Virginia’s 8,811,195, but obligations are $3.8B versus $110.8B. Virginia’s file is dense with awards (1,116,647 vs 58,316) and led by other computer related services. Indiana’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Population does not determine obligation totals in this pair.

What is Indiana’s spending per capita vs Virginia’s?

Indiana is at $80.53 per person; Virginia is at $1,344.24. Those rates use the $3.8B and $110.8B obligation totals and Census populations of 6,924,275 and 8,811,195. Per capita is the metric that shows Indiana as low-intensity, not merely slightly smaller. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Indiana and Virginia figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash disbursements and can lag. The $3.8B and $110.8B stacked totals, and the FY2026 amounts of $557.6M and $11.8B, are obligation aggregates. They are not monthly Treasury payment totals and not state budget receipts. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.