North Dakota vs West Virginia on USAspending: $700.4M vs $1.7B

A thin Plains construction log against an ammunition stock

North Dakota’s 7,218 awards on $700.4M are a thin construction-led log. West Virginia’s 14,302 awards on $1.7B are a heavier ammunition-led stock. Neither file is empty. They are not close. Cite USAspending.gov. Row count is not average award size.

Population of 796,568 versus 1,769,979 is a real Census gap. Intensity still favors West Virginia, $113.44 versus $63.75. North Dakota’s smaller count does not produce a hotter ratio here. The $63.75 reading is the cooler one.

FY2026 of $50.8M versus $200.8M follows West Virginia. Recency does not rescue the thinner North Dakota log. Treat both amounts as obligation slices, not Treasury cash.

Building construction versus ammunition manufacturing

North Dakota’s lead industry is commercial and institutional building construction. West Virginia’s is ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing. A construction peak on $700.4M and an ammunition peak on $1.7B are different mixes. Construction is a first read on North Dakota. Ammunition manufacturing is a first read on West Virginia.

The 7,218 North Dakota awards and 14,302 West Virginia awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the North Dakota and West Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes. Outlays are not listed.

FY2026: $50.8M versus $200.8M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $50.8M in North Dakota and $200.8M in West Virginia. Recency preserves West Virginia’s stacked lead; North Dakota’s $50.8M slice stays thin. Treat the year as a recency slice of USAspending.gov obligations, not as Treasury cash already paid.

Do not divide $50.8M or $200.8M by 7,218 or 14,302 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $63.75 and $113.44 already sits beside Census counts of 796,568 and 1,769,979. Cite USAspending.gov for both the stacked stocks ($700.4M vs $1.7B) and the latest-year amounts.

Ammunition dollars on a thicker West Virginia ratio

West Virginia’s $113.44 per capita on 1,769,979 residents sits on $1.7B and 14,302 awards. North Dakota’s $63.75 on 796,568 sits on $700.4M and 7,218 awards. The ammunition peak is the mix label on the heavier, hotter file.

Keep every dollar figure labeled as a USAspending.gov obligation. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not collapse construction and ammunition into a generic manufacturing ranking.

How to read North Dakota versus West Virginia

Read the comparison hub for the tables and the North Dakota and West Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients. Stacked stocks are $700.4M versus $1.7B. FY2026 obligations are $50.8M versus $200.8M. Awards are 7,218 versus 14,302. Population is 796,568 versus 1,769,979. Spending per capita is $63.75 versus $113.44. Lead industries are commercial and institutional building construction versus ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing. Outlays are a different series. Cite USAspending.gov. Keep every dollar figure labeled as an obligation.

Obligations, outlays, and the packet's cuts

North Dakota versus West Virginia pairs a thin construction-led Plains log with a heavier ammunition-led Appalachian stock, and the intensity ranking follows the heavier file. North Dakota's packet cuts are $700.4M stacked, $50.8M in FY2026, 7,218 awards, 796,568 residents, and $63.75 per capita, with commercial and institutional building construction as the lead NAICS. West Virginia's packet cuts are $1.7B stacked, $200.8M in FY2026, 14,302 awards, 1,769,979 residents, and $113.44 per capita, with ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing as the lead NAICS. An obligation is a commitment recorded in USAspending.gov. An outlay is cash paid later and is not in this packet. Do not invent average award size from 7,218 or 14,302. Use the comparison hub for the tables. The North Dakota and West Virginia state hubs hold agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov. Keep $63.75 and $113.44 labeled as Census-based obligation ratios. Keep $700.4M and $1.7B labeled as stacked obligation stocks, not as FY2026 cash and not as outlays. Recency slices of $50.8M and $200.8M remain obligation cuts for fiscal year 2026. Population figures are Census counts. commercial and institutional building construction and ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing remain mix labels, not proofs of a typical award and not substitutes for the stacked ranking of $700.4M versus $1.7B. FY2026 amounts of $50.8M and $200.8M should not be divided by all-years award counts of 7,218 and 14,302.

Questions

Does North Dakota or West Virginia have more federal spending?

Stacked USAspending.gov obligations are $700.4M in North Dakota and $1.7B in West Virginia. Spending per capita is $63.75 versus $113.44 on 796,568 and 1,769,979 residents. Award counts are 7,218 versus 14,302. FY2026 obligations are $50.8M in North Dakota and $200.8M in West Virginia. Both dollar series are obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in North Dakota and West Virginia?

North Dakota's top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. West Virginia's is ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $700.4M and $1.7B. Award counts are 7,218 in North Dakota and 14,302 in West Virginia. The rest of each mix sits outside those peaks on USAspending.gov obligation files.

How do North Dakota and West Virginia compare on a per-capita basis?

The packet reports $63.75 per capita in North Dakota on 796,568 residents and $113.44 in West Virginia on 1,769,979 residents. Stacked stocks are $700.4M versus $1.7B. Award counts are 7,218 versus 14,302. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays. FY2026 amounts are $50.8M versus $200.8M.

Are North Dakota vs West Virginia figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $700.4M and $1.7B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $50.8M and $200.8M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag behind commitments. Spending per capita ($63.75 vs $113.44) uses Census population where present. This packet does not publish outlays.