Massachusetts vs District of Columbia on USAspending: $13.5B vs $19.9B

The District’s $19.9B versus Massachusetts’s $13.5B

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. The District’s $19.9B is about 1.5 times Massachusetts’s $13.5B. Place of performance in the award file is not a population contest. A 702,250-person capital can outrun a 7,136,171-person New England state in this aggregate because headquarters contracting stacks dollars in the District.

Award counts favor Massachusetts. Massachusetts has 294,824 awards; the District has 95,844. Massachusetts’s file is busier in rows and lighter in dollars. The District’s file is heavier in dollars on fewer actions — a higher typical booking. The $19.9B versus $13.5B ranking is a dollar ranking, not a row ranking.

Capital intensity versus a $364.70 New England reading

Massachusetts’s 7,136,171 residents dwarf the District’s 702,250. After dividing the obligation stocks by those Census counts, the District shows $3,166.95 per capita and Massachusetts shows $364.70. Massachusetts is already intensive relative to many large states; the District is in another band because 702,250 residents sit under $19.9B.

A $364.70 per-person reading in Massachusetts on 7,136,171 residents is an intensity fact attached to a $13.5B stock. The District’s $3,166.95 is not a claim that every resident received that amount. This table scores USAspending awards, not GDP and not a household transfer.

Aircraft engines in Massachusetts, management consulting in D.C.

Massachusetts’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. The District’s is administrative management and general management consulting services. Those labels mark the largest NAICS slice in each file, not a full industrial census. Engine-parts awards and consulting-services awards are different lead products sitting on $13.5B and $19.9B.

An aircraft-engine lead can concentrate propulsion manufacturing inside Massachusetts’s 294,824-award file. A management-consulting lead can concentrate professional-services awards inside the District’s 95,844 records. Mix and scale both differ. Neither industry name explains every dollar.

FY2026: Massachusetts’s $2.6B edges the District’s $2.2B

FY2026 obligations are $2.6B in Massachusetts and $2.2B in the District. The latest year reverses the stacked ranking. Massachusetts’s $2.6B is a large slice of its $13.5B stock; the District’s $2.2B is a smaller slice of $19.9B. Recency questions belong in FY2026. The all-years totals remain the comparison’s headline stock.

Do not divide those FY figures by Massachusetts’s 294,824 or the District’s 95,844 all-years awards. Those row counts cover the stacked file, not a single fiscal year. Both cuts are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays can lag award dates, so a $2.6B versus $2.2B latest-year reading is a commitment scoreboard, not a cash-flow statement.

Stock in the capital, recency in Massachusetts

The District leads stacked dollars ($19.9B vs $13.5B) and per capita ($3,166.95 vs $364.70). Massachusetts leads award count (294,824 vs 95,844), population (7,136,171 vs 702,250), and FY2026 ($2.6B vs $2.2B). Those splits are why Massachusetts versus the District cannot be reduced to one ranking.

Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing versus administrative management and general management consulting services is mix. Use the Massachusetts and District of Columbia hubs for agencies and recipients. Keep $13.5B and $19.9B labeled as obligations.

How to read Massachusetts against a capital file

Massachusetts’s $13.5B on 7,136,171 residents is already intensive at $364.70. The District’s $19.9B on 702,250 residents at $3,166.95 is a different band because headquarters contracting stacks dollars in the capital. Open the Massachusetts hub and the District of Columbia hub for agencies and recipients. Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing versus administrative management and general management consulting services is mix on 294,824 and 95,844 awards.

FY2026’s $2.6B versus $2.2B is the recency inversion. Do not treat that latest-year cut as a rewrite of the $13.5B versus $19.9B stock. These are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits. A $3,166.95 per-capita reading is not a claim that each District resident received that amount. Use the hubs for the next drill-down.

Massachusetts versus the District splits stock from recency: $13.5B versus $19.9B, then $2.6B versus $2.2B in FY2026. Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing and administrative management and general management consulting services sit on 294,824 and 95,844 awards. Per capita of $364.70 versus $3,166.95 on 7,136,171 and 702,250 residents is capital intensity, not a household transfer. Obligations remain the unit. The Massachusetts and District of Columbia hubs hold the next tables.

Questions

Which has more federal spending, Massachusetts or the District of Columbia?

The District of Columbia leads in stacked USAspending.gov obligations: $19.9B versus Massachusetts’s $13.5B. Massachusetts has more awards (294,824 vs 95,844) and more people (7,136,171 vs 702,250). Spending per capita is $364.70 in Massachusetts and $3,166.95 in the District. FY2026 obligations are $2.6B in Massachusetts and $2.2B in the District. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Does Massachusetts have a larger FY2026 total than D.C.?

Yes. FY2026 obligations are $2.6B in Massachusetts and $2.2B in the District, reversing the stacked $13.5B versus $19.9B ranking. Massachusetts also logs more awards (294,824 vs 95,844). The District still leads per capita ($3,166.95 vs $364.70) on 702,250 residents versus 7,136,171. Recency and stock are different cuts.

What industries lead Massachusetts and D.C. federal awards?

Massachusetts’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. The District’s is administrative management and general management consulting services. Those slices sit on $13.5B and $19.9B in obligations. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award. Award counts are 294,824 in Massachusetts and 95,844 in the District.

Are Massachusetts vs D.C. figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $13.5B and $19.9B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $2.6B and $2.2B measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits.