North Carolina vs Oklahoma on USAspending: $6.34B vs $5.46B

A close dollar race on wildly different award files

North Carolina’s $6.34B versus Oklahoma’s $5.46B is about 1.16 times — a narrow stacked lead. Population is about 2.70 times: 11,046,024 versus 4,095,393. People outrun dollars by a wide margin, which is why North Carolina’s per-capita figure compresses to $66.77 while Oklahoma’s expands to $205.98. The smaller Census count carries more obligation per resident.

Award counts make the files look like different species. North Carolina’s 429,746 awards are about 8.5 times Oklahoma’s 50,460. The Carolina file is dense with actions on a dollar stock that is only 16 percent larger. Oklahoma’s 50,460 rows on $5.46B imply a heavier typical booking if one divided dollars by actions — a ratio this packet does not publish as an official metric.

Stacked dollars still belong to North Carolina. Intensity and, as the next section shows, the latest fiscal year belong to Oklahoma. Award volume belongs to North Carolina by a landslide that the dollar totals do not match.

Pharmaceutical preparations versus aircraft parts

North Carolina’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Oklahoma’s top industry is other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing. Those NAICS peaks sit on $6.34B and $5.46B. A drug-manufacturing lead is not a claim that every Carolina award is a pill line; an aircraft-parts lead is not a claim that every Oklahoma award is a fuselage kit.

The 429,746 North Carolina awards and 50,460 Oklahoma awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the North Carolina and Oklahoma state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both lead industries are obligation mixes, not outlay mixes.

FY2026: Oklahoma’s $843.6M leads North Carolina’s $737.5M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $843.6M in Oklahoma and $737.5M in North Carolina. Recency favors Oklahoma even though the stacked $6.34B versus $5.46B ranking still favors North Carolina. The latest-year gap is not huge, but it is a ranking flip. Treat FY2026 as a recency cut of USAspending.gov obligations, not as a closed books total and not as cash paid.

Do not divide $737.5M or $843.6M by 429,746 or 50,460 all-years awards. Per capita of $66.77 and $205.98 already uses 11,046,024 and 4,095,393 residents against the stacked stocks.

Eleven million people do not produce the higher ratio

North Carolina’s 11,046,024 residents are more than double Oklahoma’s 4,095,393, and $6.34B still beats $5.46B. The per-person ranking ignores that headcount advantage. $66.77 versus $205.98 is the intensity comparison this pair actually supports. It is not a ranking of pharmacies, airframes, or household income.

Keep the labels: USAspending.gov obligations divided by Census counts. Award counts of 429,746 and 50,460 describe how busy the files are, not how many residents received federal dollars.

How to read North Carolina versus Oklahoma

Start with the modest dollar lead ($6.34B vs $5.46B), then the award-count blowout (429,746 vs 50,460), then the intensity inversion ($66.77 vs $205.98). Note pharma versus aircraft parts. Check FY2026 ($737.5M vs $843.6M) because Oklahoma takes the latest-year dollar lead. All five cuts are obligations.

The comparison hub holds the side-by-side tables. The North Carolina and Oklahoma hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are a different Treasury series.

Pharma rows and airframe parts are not outlays

North Carolina’s $6.34B and Oklahoma’s $5.46B are USAspending.gov obligations. Pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing and other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing are lead labels on those stocks. They are not a count of pills or fuselage kits shipped. FY2026’s $737.5M versus $843.6M is recency, and it is the ranking Oklahoma wins.

Spending per capita of $66.77 and $205.98 sits beside Census counts of 11,046,024 and 4,095,393. Award counts of 429,746 and 50,460 show how different the action files are on a modest dollar gap. The comparison hub holds the side-by-side tables. The North Carolina and Oklahoma hubs hold agencies and recipients. Monthly Treasury Statement payments are a different tape.

Questions

Does North Carolina or Oklahoma have more federal spending?

North Carolina leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $6.34B to Oklahoma’s $5.46B. Oklahoma leads spending per capita, $205.98 versus $66.77, on 4,095,393 residents against North Carolina’s 11,046,024. North Carolina has far more awards (429,746 vs 50,460). FY2026 obligations are $737.5M in North Carolina and $843.6M in Oklahoma.

Why is Oklahoma’s per-capita federal spending higher?

The packet reports $205.98 per capita in Oklahoma on 4,095,393 residents and $66.77 in North Carolina on 11,046,024. North Carolina has more people and far more awards (429,746 vs 50,460). Stacked obligations are $6.34B versus $5.46B. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What are the top industries in North Carolina and Oklahoma?

North Carolina’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Oklahoma’s is other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $6.34B and $5.46B. Award counts are 429,746 in North Carolina and 50,460 in Oklahoma.

Are North Carolina vs Oklahoma figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $6.34B and $5.46B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $737.5M and $843.6M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($66.77 vs $205.98) uses Census population against those obligations.