South Dakota vs Virginia on USAspending: $1.0B and 8,274 awards

Eight thousand awards carrying a $1.0B file

USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays, put South Dakota at $1.0B and Virginia at $110.8B. South Dakota’s 8,274 awards are among the thinner counts in this comparison wave. Dollars per action run higher than in high-count, low-dollar states: a manufacturing-led file can do that without resembling Virginia’s 1,116,647-row services stack.

Electronic computer manufacturing as a lead slice means the largest grouping is hardware production, not help-desk or integration services. Virginia’s other computer related services label is the services residual. Both mention computers. They do not describe the same work.

Per capita $79.92 vs $1,344.24

South Dakota’s $79.92 per person uses $1.0B and 924,669 residents. Virginia’s $1,344.24 uses $110.8B and 8,811,195. A sub-million population lifts the per-person rate only so far when the numerator is $1.0B. Virginia remains in a different intensity band.

Prairie geography and a hardware-manufacturing lead do not produce a capital-region obligation load. $79.92 versus $1,344.24 is the measured gap after Census counts are divided out.

South Dakota’s 8,274 awards on $1.0B are a hardware-file texture under electronic computer manufacturing, not a services-file texture under Virginia’s other computer related services. The computer vocabulary overlaps; the goods-versus-services split does not. Per capita is $79.92 on 924,669 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195. Award counts are 8,274 versus 1,116,647. FY2026 is $73.9M versus $11.8B. A lumpy manufacturing lot can move the stacked $1.0B without filling a Virginia-sized row count. Cite USAspending.gov obligations. Do not collapse the two industry labels into one computer story, and do not import Treasury outlays.

Electronic computer manufacturing vs other computer related services

South Dakota’s top industry is electronic computer manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. One is a goods NAICS; the other is a services NAICS. That goods-versus-services split is the cleanest reading of the two labels.

Hardware awards can be lumpy and few — consistent with 8,274 actions on $1.0B. Services awards can be numerous — consistent with 1,116,647 actions on $110.8B. Shared vocabulary around “computer” is a trap if it hides that split.

FY2026: $73.9M vs $11.8B

FY2026 obligations are $73.9M in South Dakota and $11.8B in Virginia. South Dakota’s latest year is a modest slice of $1.0B; Virginia’s $11.8B is one year of $110.8B. Manufacturing lots may not repeat evenly every fiscal year. Recency belongs in FY2026. The stacked total is the full USAspending.gov aggregate. Both are obligations.

South Dakota’s $73.9M in FY2026 is recency inside $1.0B. Hardware manufacturing lots may not repeat evenly every fiscal year. Virginia’s $11.8B inside $110.8B is a large current layer. Do not divide $73.9M by South Dakota’s 8,274 all-years awards. Per capita of $79.92 on 924,669 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity comparison. Both the latest-year and stacked columns are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Hardware in a small state vs services in a dense one

This comparison does not rank computer quality. It reports $1.0B vs $110.8B in obligations from USAspending.gov. Outlays can lag production awards. Open the South Dakota and Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. Shared vocabulary around computers is the trap in this pair. South Dakota’s $1.0B is a goods-led stock. Virginia’s $110.8B is a services-led stock. The NAICS-style names both mention computers and describe different work.

Electronic computer manufacturing is a goods label. Other computer related services is a services label. Those names both mention computers and describe different work on $1.0B versus $110.8B. Award counts of 8,274 versus 1,116,647 match a lumpy hardware file against a crowded services file. Use the South Dakota and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients. Keep outlays in a separate series.

How to keep hardware and services from collapsing into one computer story

Electronic computer manufacturing is a goods grouping on South Dakota’s $1.0B, 8,274 awards, and $79.92 per capita across 924,669 residents. Other computer related services is a services grouping on Virginia’s $110.8B, 1,116,647 awards, and $1,344.24 across 8,811,195 residents. Goods versus services is the split worth keeping.

FY2026 ($73.9M vs $11.8B) is recency. Manufacturing lots may not repeat evenly every year. Stacked totals are scale. USAspending.gov obligations are not Treasury outlays. Open the South Dakota and Virginia hubs for agencies and recipients.

Questions

How much federal spending is in South Dakota vs Virginia?

South Dakota has $1.0B in USAspending.gov obligations and 8,274 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Spending per capita is $79.92 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 924,669 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $73.9M 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.

Is South Dakota’s top industry the same as Virginia’s computer-related lead?

No. South Dakota’s top industry is electronic computer manufacturing (hardware). Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $1.0B and $110.8B. A goods label and a services label both mention computers and describe different work. 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 South Dakota have only 8,274 federal awards?

South Dakota’s 8,274 awards on $1.0B imply a concentrated, relatively high dollar-per-award mix, consistent with a manufacturing lead. Virginia’s $110.8B sits on 1,116,647 awards. Count follows industrial mix as well as scale; a thin row count is not a missing-data error by itself.

Are South Dakota vs Virginia figures outlays?

No. They are obligations from USAspending.gov. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $1.0B and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $73.9M and $11.8B measure award commitments by place of performance, not checks issued. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.