Montana vs Virginia on USAspending: $1.2B in a large land, small population

One point two billion dollars vs $110.8B

USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays, put Montana at $1.2B and Virginia at $110.8B. Virginia’s stock is about 89 times Montana’s. Award counts are 21,487 versus 1,116,647. Montana’s file is a thin set of actions stretched across a huge map.

Federal construction on bases, labs, and land-management sites can move a $1.2B total without filling a Virginia-sized row count. The 21,487 awards are the count that matches that geography better than any metaphor about wide-open space.

Per capita $187.18 is Montana’s offset

Divide $1.2B by 1,137,233 residents and Montana lands at $187.18 per capita — above several more populous states in this set, still far below Virginia’s $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 people. A small denominator lifts the per-person rate. It does not close a $1.2B versus $110.8B gap.

Readers who only rank by total dollars will bury Montana. Readers who rank by per person will still put Virginia first, but they will see Montana as more intensively booked than its headline total suggests.

Montana’s 1,137,233 residents and 21,487 awards describe a sparse construction file. The $187.18 per-capita rate on that small denominator is the offset to a $1.2B headline; Virginia still leads at $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents and $110.8B. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services is mix. FY2026’s $212.9M versus $11.8B is a large share of Montana’s stack, consistent with lumpy facilities work. Land area is not in the table. Census population is. USAspending.gov obligations are the unit, not acres managed and not Treasury outlays.

Building construction vs computer services

Montana’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Federal buildings, barracks, and facilities work in Montana are a different mix than IT-services awards around Virginia agencies.

Construction-led files are lumpy. Computer-services files are crowded. Those textures fit 21,487 versus 1,116,647 awards and $1.2B versus $110.8B. The labels mark the largest slice, not every NAICS code.

FY2026: $212.9M vs $11.8B

FY2026 obligations are $212.9M in Montana and $11.8B in Virginia. Montana’s latest year is a large share of $1.2B; Virginia’s $11.8B is one year of $110.8B. Construction obligated in an earlier year can still be paying out in FY2026. Stacked totals and latest-year cuts answer different questions. Both are obligations.

Montana’s $212.9M in FY2026 is a large share of $1.2B, consistent with lumpy construction rather than a smooth services stream. Virginia’s $11.8B inside $110.8B is a large current layer of a much larger stock. Do not divide $212.9M by Montana’s 21,487 all-years awards. Per capita of $187.18 on 1,137,233 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity comparison that already uses Montana’s small denominator. Both cuts are USAspending.gov obligations.

A sparse-file state against a dense-file state

This comparison does not convert $1.2B or $110.8B into jobs per acre. It reports USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance. Outlays can lag. Open the Montana and Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. Montana’s $1.2B can move on a small number of facilities projects. That lumpiness is a reason not to treat year-to-year swings as a change in federal favor. Virginia’s $110.8B is large enough that no single building explains it. Same unit — USAspending.gov obligations — different textures.

Land area is not a column in this table and should not be used as a substitute for Census population. Montana’s $1.2B, 21,487 awards, and construction lead describe a sparse facilities file. Virginia’s $110.8B, 1,116,647 awards, and computer-services lead describe a dense professional-services file. Outlays can lag construction. Open the Montana and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients.

How to place Montana on a per-person basis without overstating it

Montana’s $187.18 per capita on 1,137,233 residents is the offset to a $1.2B headline. Virginia’s $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents still leads. Award counts of 21,487 versus 1,116,647 show Montana’s file is sparse in rows. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services is mix.

FY2026 ($212.9M vs $11.8B) is recency and a large share of Montana’s $1.2B. Stacked totals remain scale. Obligations are not Treasury outlays. Land area is not in the table and should not be smuggled in as a substitute for the Census denominator.

Questions

How much federal spending is in Montana vs Virginia?

Montana has $1.2B in USAspending.gov obligations and 21,487 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Spending per capita is $187.18 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 1,137,233 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $212.9M 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 is Montana’s per-capita figure higher than some larger states?

Montana’s $187.18 per capita uses $1.2B in obligations and only 1,137,233 residents. A small population lifts the per-person rate even when the headline total is $1.2B. Virginia still leads at $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents and $110.8B in obligations. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

What is Montana’s top industry vs Virginia’s?

Montana’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $1.2B and $110.8B in obligations and on 21,487 vs 1,116,647 awards. Construction and computer services are different federal customers. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Montana vs Virginia numbers outlays?

No. They are obligations from USAspending.gov. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag on multi-year construction. The $1.2B and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $212.9M and $11.8B measure commitments by place of performance. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.