Maine vs South Dakota on USAspending: $776.4M vs $1.0B

Fewer people, fewer awards, a larger $1.0B stock

South Dakota’s $1.0B stacked stock sits above Maine’s $776.4M on a smaller Census file: 924,669 versus 1,405,012. Intensity follows. $79.92 per capita in South Dakota is more than double Maine’s $35.09. Those packet ratios sit beside the Census counts; they are not a second copy of the two headline stocks.

Award volume runs hard the other way. Maine’s 26,048 awards versus South Dakota’s 8,274 is a much thicker action log on the smaller dollar file. Row count is not average award size. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not invent a mean from 26,048 or 8,274.

Building-equipment contractors versus electronic computer manufacturing

Maine’s lead NAICS is other building equipment contractors. South Dakota’s is electronic computer manufacturing. A contractor peak is a construction-adjacent first read on Maine’s $776.4M mix. A computer-manufacturing peak is a hardware first read on South Dakota’s $1.0B mix. The labels are not interchangeable food, defense, or health peaks.

The 26,048 Maine awards and 8,274 South Dakota awards include many actions outside those two industries. Use the Maine and South Dakota state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not in the packet.

FY2026: South Dakota’s $74.0M versus Maine’s $49.3M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $74.0M in South Dakota and $49.3M in Maine. Recency preserves South Dakota’s stacked dollar lead and widens it relative to the all-years gap. Treat the year as a recency slice of obligations, not as Treasury cash already paid and not as a forecast for later fiscal years.

Do not divide $74.0M or $49.3M by 8,274 or 26,048 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $79.92 and $35.09 already sits beside Census counts of 924,669 and 1,405,012. Cite USAspending.gov for both cuts.

What $79.92 looks like on 924,669 residents

South Dakota’s $1.0B on 924,669 people produces $79.92 per capita, hotter than Maine’s $35.09 on 1,405,012. The computer-manufacturing peak sits on that hotter ratio and on only 8,274 awards. The $74.0M FY2026 slice is the recency cut on the larger stock.

Maine’s contractor peak, 26,048 awards, and $49.3M latest-year amount remain the thicker action log on a cooler ratio. Read a Plains state against a New England state as a mix contrast, not as a matched pair of obligation files. Keep every dollar figure labeled as a USAspending.gov obligation.

How to read Maine versus South Dakota

Read South Dakota first on stacked dollars ($1.0B vs $776.4M), spending per capita ($79.92 vs $35.09), and FY2026 ($74.0M vs $49.3M). Read Maine first on awards (26,048 vs 8,274) and population (1,405,012 vs 924,669). Note other building equipment contractors versus electronic computer manufacturing.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The Maine and South Dakota hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are a different series. Cite USAspending.gov. Keep $35.09 and $79.92 labeled as Census-based obligation ratios.

Reading a New England contractor file against a Plains computer file

Maine’s other building equipment contractors peak and South Dakota’s electronic computer manufacturing peak sit on $776.4M and $1.0B. Those NAICS labels do not travel with the award counts. Maine’s 26,048 awards are a thick action log on the smaller stock. South Dakota’s 8,274 awards are a thin log on the larger stock. FY2026 of $74.0M versus $49.3M is a recency ranking that currently favors South Dakota. Spending per capita of $79.92 versus $35.09 already uses 924,669 and 1,405,012 residents from the packet.

The comparison is not a statement about Plains versus New England economies as a whole. It is a USAspending.gov obligation pair. Outlays can lag. Average award size is not in the packet. The comparison hub holds the tables. The Maine and South Dakota hubs hold agencies and recipients. Keep $776.4M, $1.0B, $49.3M, and $74.0M labeled as obligations.

Questions

Does Maine or South Dakota have more federal spending?

South Dakota leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $1.0B to Maine’s $776.4M, spending per capita $79.92 to $35.09, and FY2026 obligations $74.0M to $49.3M. Maine leads award volume 26,048 to 8,274. Population is 1,405,012 in Maine and 924,669 in South Dakota.

What industries lead in Maine and South Dakota?

Maine’s top industry is other building equipment contractors. South Dakota’s is electronic computer manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $776.4M and $1.0B. Award counts are 26,048 in Maine and 8,274 in South Dakota.

Does Maine’s larger population produce a higher per-capita figure?

No. The packet reports $35.09 per capita in Maine on 1,405,012 residents and $79.92 in South Dakota on 924,669. Stacked stocks are $776.4M versus $1.0B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. The larger Census count sits with the cooler ratio.

Are Maine vs South Dakota figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $776.4M and $1.0B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $49.3M and $74.0M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($35.09 vs $79.92) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays or average award size.