New Mexico vs South Carolina on USAspending: $3.93B vs $3.85B

A photo-finish stock with a 11-to-1 intensity gap

New Mexico’s $3.93B is about 1.02 times South Carolina’s $3.85B. Population runs the other way by about 2.57 times: 5,478,831 versus 2,130,256. The stacked race could not be closer. The per-capita pair could not be further apart. $945.82 in New Mexico versus $83.98 in South Carolina is the comparison this pair is actually about. Cite those ratios as packet figures beside the Census counts.

Award counts belong to South Carolina, 129,440 versus 19,233, about 6.7 times as many rows on a slightly smaller stock. The Carolina file is busy. New Mexico’s 19,233 actions on $3.93B are sparse and still sit beside the $945.82 reading.

FY2026 then stops looking like a photo finish. $2.01B in New Mexico versus $460.1M in South Carolina matches the intensity ranking, not the stacked ranking.

Construction versus biological products

New Mexico’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. South Carolina’s lead NAICS is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those peaks sit on $3.93B and $3.85B. A construction lead is a first filter on the New Mexico mix; a biologics lead is a first filter on the Carolina mix.

The 19,233 New Mexico awards and 129,440 South Carolina awards include many actions outside those labels. Use the New Mexico and South Carolina state hubs for agencies and recipients. Both peaks are USAspending.gov obligation mixes.

FY2026: New Mexico’s $2.01B versus South Carolina’s $460.1M

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $2.01B in New Mexico and $460.1M in South Carolina. Recency flips any sense that the stacked near-tie is the whole story. Treat the year as a recency slice of obligations, not as Treasury cash. A $2.01B latest-year booking on 2,130,256 residents is also the neighborhood of the $945.82 per-capita figure.

Do not divide $2.01B or $460.1M by 19,233 or 129,440 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $945.82 and $83.98 already sits beside those Census counts in the packet.

South Carolina wins rows and people; New Mexico wins the ratio

5,478,831 residents and 129,440 awards make South Carolina look larger, which it is on those two counts. $3.85B versus $3.93B is a loss by a hair on stock. $83.98 versus $945.82 is a loss by a mile on intensity. Headcount is not the engine of the per-capita ranking.

Keep those per-capita figures labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations. They are not outlays per resident.

How to read New Mexico versus South Carolina

Read the stacked stocks as a near-tie ($3.93B vs $3.85B). Read New Mexico first on intensity ($945.82 vs $83.98) and on FY2026 ($2.01B vs $460.1M). Read South Carolina first on awards (129,440 vs 19,233) and population (5,478,831 vs 2,130,256). Note construction versus biological products. All cuts are obligations.

The comparison hub holds the tables. The New Mexico and South Carolina hubs hold agencies and recipients. Outlays are a different series.

A photo-finish stock is not a photo-finish year

New Mexico’s $3.93B and South Carolina’s $3.85B are USAspending.gov obligations that almost match. FY2026’s $2.01B versus $460.1M does not match. Spending per capita of $945.82 and $83.98 does not match. Commercial and institutional building construction versus biological product manufacturing is the industry split. Outlays are not listed.

Award counts of 19,233 and 129,440 and Census counts of 2,130,256 and 5,478,831 go to South Carolina. Use the New Mexico and South Carolina hubs for agencies and recipients. The comparison hub is the side-by-side obligation view, not a cash tape.

South Carolina’s 129,440 awards and 5,478,831 residents look larger. New Mexico’s $3.93B versus $3.85B, $945.82 versus $83.98 per capita, and $2.01B versus $460.1M in FY2026 say otherwise on stock, intensity, and recency. Construction versus biological products is mix. Treat the ratios as packet figures beside 2,130,256 and 5,478,831 residents.

Questions

Does New Mexico or South Carolina have more federal spending?

New Mexico leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $3.93B to South Carolina’s $3.85B. New Mexico also leads spending per capita, $945.82 versus $83.98, on 2,130,256 residents against South Carolina’s 5,478,831. South Carolina has far more awards (129,440 vs 19,233). FY2026 obligations are $2.01B in New Mexico and $460.1M in South Carolina.

Why is New Mexico’s per-capita figure so much higher?

The packet reports $945.82 per capita in New Mexico on 2,130,256 residents and $83.98 in South Carolina on 5,478,831. Stacked stocks are close ($3.93B vs $3.85B). FY2026 obligations are $2.01B versus $460.1M. Award counts are 19,233 versus 129,440. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in New Mexico and South Carolina?

New Mexico’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. South Carolina’s is biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $3.93B and $3.85B. Award counts are 19,233 in New Mexico and 129,440 in South Carolina.

Are New Mexico vs South Carolina figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $3.93B and $3.85B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $2.01B and $460.1M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($945.82 vs $83.98) uses Census population where present.