Mississippi vs Virginia on USAspending: shipyards, many awards, $2.9B

Two hundred thirty-three thousand awards on $2.9B

USAspending.gov obligations put Mississippi at $2.9B and Virginia at $110.8B. Mississippi’s 233,003 awards are the standout statistic in this pair. That is a high action count for a sub-$3B dollar file. Many of those actions can be modifications, delivery orders, or smaller yard-related transactions sitting under a shipbuilding-led mix.

Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards still dwarf Mississippi’s count, and $110.8B dwarfs $2.9B. The point is not that Mississippi out-counts Virginia. The point is that Mississippi’s file is granular: lots of rows, less dollar mass than the count might imply to a casual scanner.

Per capita stays far apart

Spending per capita is $115.31 in Mississippi and $1,344.24 in Virginia. Census populations are 2,943,045 and 8,811,195. Virginia has about three times Mississippi’s people and about 38 times the obligations. Per capita is the remainder after that population factor is removed.

A shipyard state can still be a low-intensity state on a per-person basis if the yard dollars do not offset a smaller overall federal-award economy. $115.31 versus $1,344.24 is that result.

Mississippi’s 233,003 awards are the statistic that changes how a reader should scan $2.9B. A low-count, high-dollar file would imply a few huge actions. This file implies many smaller or modified actions under a ship-building-and-repairing lead. Virginia’s $110.8B on 1,116,647 awards is still larger in both columns. Per capita of $115.31 on 2,943,045 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity remainder after population is divided out. FY2026’s $339.4M versus $11.8B is recency. None of those figures is a Treasury outlay. They are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance.

Ship building and repairing vs computer services

Mississippi’s top industry is ship building and repairing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Gulf Coast yards and Virginia IT shops are different federal industrial bases. One builds and overhauls vessels; the other bills computer-related services to agencies.

Shipyard work can generate long strings of modifications — which helps explain 233,003 awards on $2.9B without requiring every row to be a new hull. Virginia’s $110.8B on 1,116,647 awards is a services-volume story. The labels mark the contrast; they do not inventory every contract.

FY2026: $339.4M vs $11.8B

FY2026 obligations are $339.4M in Mississippi and $11.8B in Virginia. Mississippi’s latest year is a visible share of $2.9B; Virginia’s $11.8B is one year inside $110.8B. Multi-year shipyard obligations can span fiscal years, which is another reason stacked totals and FY2026 answer different questions. Both are obligations, not outlays.

Mississippi’s $339.4M in FY2026 is recency inside a $2.9B stack that also holds earlier yard work. Virginia’s $11.8B latest year inside $110.8B remains far larger. Shipyard modifications can raise Mississippi’s all-years count to 233,003 without making FY2026 look like 233,003 new hulls. Per capita of $115.31 on 2,943,045 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity comparison. Keep FY2026 and stacked totals labeled as USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

What a shipyard-vs-IT pairing does not prove

This comparison does not score naval strategy or IT program performance. It reports $2.9B vs $110.8B in USAspending.gov obligations, 233,003 vs 1,116,647 awards, and the two top-industry labels. Agency and recipient detail lives on the Mississippi and Virginia state pages. A modification-heavy shipyard file can raise Mississippi’s count toward 233,003 without raising the stacked total toward $110.8B. Virginia’s computer-services volume raises both count and dollars. Those are different mechanics under the same USAspending.gov obligation definition.

A high Mississippi count is a texture fact. It is not a ranking win against Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards and $110.8B. Ship building and repairing versus other computer related services is mix. Place of performance on a yard can generate long modification chains. Place of performance in Northern Virginia can generate long services chains. Those chains look different in dollars. Open the Mississippi and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients.

How to interpret Mississippi’s 233,003 awards

Do not treat 233,003 as a claim that Mississippi out-competes Virginia. Virginia still has 1,116,647 awards and $110.8B. Treat 233,003 as a claim that Mississippi’s $2.9B is spread across many actions, consistent with ship building and repairing as the top industry. Per capita of $115.31 versus $1,344.24 on 2,943,045 and 8,811,195 residents remains the intensity comparison.

FY2026 ($339.4M vs $11.8B) is recency and can bounce with yard schedules. Stacked totals answer how large the USAspending.gov file is. Obligations are not Treasury outlays; a hull or overhaul can be obligated in one year and paid across several.

Questions

How much federal spending is in Mississippi vs Virginia?

Mississippi has $2.9B in USAspending.gov obligations and Virginia has $110.8B. Award counts are 233,003 and 1,116,647. Spending per capita is $115.31 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 2,943,045 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $339.4M and $11.8B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays. 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 Mississippi have 233,003 federal awards on only $2.9B?

Mississippi’s 233,003 awards sit on a $2.9B obligation stock, which implies many smaller or modified actions rather than a few huge standalone awards. The top industry is ship building and repairing, a mix that often includes long modification chains. Virginia’s $110.8B sits on 1,116,647 awards led by other computer related services.

What is Mississippi’s top industry compared with Virginia’s?

Mississippi’s top industry is ship building and repairing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $2.9B and $110.8B in obligations. They describe the largest industry grouping in each state file, not every award. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Mississippi vs Virginia figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can trail commitments, especially on multi-year shipyard work. The $2.9B and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $339.4M and $11.8B are obligation aggregates by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.