North Dakota vs Virginia on USAspending: $700.4M and 7,218 awards

Seven thousand actions on $700.4M

USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays, put North Dakota at $700.4M and Virginia at $110.8B. North Dakota’s 7,218 awards are a sparse ledger. Construction-led mixes often look like that: fewer rows, lumpy project dollars, a stacked total that still sits under a billion.

Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards under $110.8B are the opposite texture — a crowded professional-services file. Comparing the two states on count alone already shows the mismatch before anyone reaches the dollar column.

Per capita $63.75 vs $1,344.24

North Dakota’s $63.75 per person uses $700.4M and 796,568 residents. Virginia’s $1,344.24 uses $110.8B and 8,811,195. A sub-million population does not lift North Dakota into a high-intensity band because the numerator is $700.4M. Energy-economy headlines are not this table; this table is federal award obligations.

Readers who equate oil-and-gas activity with USAspending place of performance will over-predict North Dakota’s $700.4M. Private extraction is not a federal obligation by default. $63.75 versus $1,344.24 is the federal-award intensity gap.

North Dakota’s 7,218 awards are the thinnest count in this assigned set and should be read with the construction lead, not as a missing-data alarm. A sparse project file can still sum to $700.4M. Virginia’s $110.8B on 1,116,647 awards is a crowded services file. Per capita is $63.75 on 796,568 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195. FY2026 is $50.8M versus $11.8B. Private energy activity does not post to this table unless it is a federal award with a North Dakota place of performance. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services is mix. Cite USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Building construction vs computer services

North Dakota’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Federal buildings, hangars, and facilities in a Plains state are a different lead slice than IT services around Virginia agencies.

Those labels sit on 7,218 versus 1,116,647 awards and on $700.4M versus $110.8B. Construction as the top slice helps explain the thin row count. Computer services as the top slice helps explain Virginia’s volume.

FY2026: $50.8M vs $11.8B

FY2026 obligations are $50.8M in North Dakota and $11.8B in Virginia. North Dakota’s latest year is a modest slice of $700.4M. Virginia’s $11.8B is one year of $110.8B. Construction can span fiscal years. Recency belongs in FY2026; the stacked total is the full USAspending.gov aggregate. Both are obligations.

North Dakota’s $50.8M in FY2026 is recency inside $700.4M. A construction-led file with 7,218 all-years awards can look quiet in a given fiscal year without the stacked total disappearing. Virginia’s $11.8B inside $110.8B is a large current layer. Do not divide $50.8M by 7,218. Per capita of $63.75 on 796,568 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity comparison. Both cuts are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

A thin Plains file vs a dense capital-region file

This comparison does not score energy policy. It reports $700.4M vs $110.8B in obligations from USAspending.gov. Outlays can lag construction awards. Open the North Dakota and Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. Private energy activity in North Dakota is not the same ledger as USAspending.gov obligations. The $700.4M column only moves when a federal award carries a North Dakota place of performance. Virginia’s $110.8B is the same rule applied to a denser contractor market.

Private energy activity is not a substitute for $700.4M in federal award obligations. The North Dakota column moves when a USAspending.gov award carries a North Dakota place of performance. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services is mix. Award counts of 7,218 versus 1,116,647 match a sparse project file against a crowded services file. Open the North Dakota and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients.

How to read North Dakota’s thin ledger

Start with 7,218 awards on $700.4M, then $63.75 per capita on 796,568 residents, then Virginia’s $110.8B, 1,116,647 awards, and $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents. A thin count plus a construction lead is a lumpy project file. It is not a missing million rows.

FY2026 ($50.8M vs $11.8B) is recency. Commercial and institutional building construction versus other computer related services is mix. USAspending.gov obligations are not Treasury outlays. Use the North Dakota and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients.

Questions

How much federal spending is in North Dakota vs Virginia?

North Dakota has $700.4M in USAspending.gov obligations and 7,218 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Spending per capita is $63.75 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 796,568 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $50.8M 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 North Dakota have only 7,218 federal awards?

North Dakota’s 7,218 awards on $700.4M are consistent with a construction-led mix: fewer, lumpier project actions. Virginia’s $110.8B sits on 1,116,647 awards led by other computer related services. A thin count is a file-texture fact, not by itself a data-quality failure. 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 North Dakota’s top industry vs Virginia’s?

North Dakota’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $700.4M and $110.8B in obligations. Construction and computer-related services are different federal customers and help explain the thin versus crowded award files.

Are North Dakota vs Virginia figures outlays?

No. They are obligations from USAspending.gov. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag on multi-year construction. The $700.4M and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $50.8M and $11.8B measure award 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.