Virginia vs West Virginia on USAspending: neighbors, a $110.8B to $1.7B split

A shared border and a 65-to-1 dollar gap

These totals are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. Virginia’s $110.8B against West Virginia’s $1.7B is about a 67-to-1 dollar ratio. Population is 8,811,195 versus 1,769,979, about 5-to-1. Neighbor status does not equalize award place of performance.

Award counts: 1,116,647 in Virginia and 14,302 in West Virginia. West Virginia’s file is thin in both dollars and rows. Virginia’s file is the dense contractor market on the eastern side of the same mountain chain.

Per capita still ranks Virginia far ahead

Spending per capita of $1,344.24 in Virginia and $113.44 in West Virginia already adjusts for 8,811,195 vs 1,769,979 people. After that adjustment, Virginia remains about twelve times as intensive. Appalachian proximity does not produce a shared per-person federal-award load.

West Virginia’s $113.44 is not zero. It is a low-intensity reading next to a neighbor that books $110.8B. Total-dollar and per-capita rankings agree; per capita is the one that survives the “West Virginia is smaller” reply.

West Virginia’s 1,769,979 residents are about one-fifth of Virginia’s 8,811,195, while $1.7B is a much smaller fraction of $110.8B. That leftover is the per-capita spread of $113.44 versus $1,344.24. Ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing on 14,302 awards is a factory-floor lead sitting next to Virginia’s 1,116,647-row computer-services file. FY2026’s $11.8B versus $200.8M shows Virginia’s latest year larger than West Virginia’s entire stack. A shared border does not pool those files. Place of performance keeps $110.8B and $1.7B in separate USAspending.gov obligation columns, not in a blended regional total and not in Treasury outlays.

Computer services in Virginia, ammunition manufacturing in West Virginia

Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. West Virginia’s is ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing. One lead slice is professional services around federal agencies; the other is munitions production excluding small arms.

Those labels sit on 1,116,647 versus 14,302 awards and on $110.8B versus $1.7B. An ammunition plant can be a major local employer without moving a state file into Virginia’s dollar tier. A computer-services belt can fill a state file without looking like a factory.

FY2026: $11.8B vs $200.8M

FY2026 obligations are $11.8B in Virginia and $200.8M in West Virginia. Virginia’s latest year alone exceeds West Virginia’s entire $1.7B stack. West Virginia’s $200.8M is a sizable share of $1.7B. Recency belongs in FY2026; the stacked totals remain the all-years USAspending.gov aggregate in this comparison. Both are obligations.

Virginia’s $11.8B in FY2026 exceeds West Virginia’s entire $1.7B stack. That single comparison is the recency headline for this border pair. West Virginia’s $200.8M latest year is a sizable share of $1.7B and still a small number next to Virginia’s current layer. Do not divide either FY2026 figure by the all-years award counts of 1,116,647 and 14,302. Per capita of $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents versus $113.44 on 1,769,979 residents is the intensity comparison. Both cuts are USAspending.gov obligations.

Border states, separate award geographies

Place of performance can sit a few miles from a state line and still count in only one state’s total. This page does not allocate “shared regional” dollars. It reports $110.8B vs $1.7B as booked. Outlays can lag. Open the Virginia and West Virginia state hubs for agencies and recipients. A state line can split a labor market and still produce $110.8B on one side and $1.7B on the other. Place of performance is a legal field on the award, not a commuting-zone total. That is the whole point of a neighbor comparison.

Neighbor status does not create a pooled award file. Virginia’s $110.8B and West Virginia’s $1.7B stay in separate columns because place of performance is a state field. Other computer related services versus ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing is mix. A plant on one side of the line and an IT shop on the other can sit twenty miles apart and still not share a total. Outlays can lag. Open each state’s hub for agencies and recipients.

How to use a border pairing without merging the files

Do not average Virginia’s $110.8B and West Virginia’s $1.7B into a central Appalachian figure. Do not average $1,344.24 and $113.44 per capita on 8,811,195 and 1,769,979 residents into a regional rate. The comparison exists because the files are separate. Award counts of 1,116,647 versus 14,302 underline that separation.

FY2026 ($11.8B vs $200.8M) shows Virginia’s latest year exceeding West Virginia’s stacked $1.7B. Other computer related services versus ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing is mix. USAspending.gov obligations are not Treasury outlays. Open each state’s hub rather than inventing a blended region.

Questions

How do Virginia and West Virginia compare on federal spending?

Virginia has $110.8B in USAspending.gov obligations and 1,116,647 awards; West Virginia has $1.7B and 14,302 awards. Spending per capita is $1,344.24 versus $113.44 on populations of 8,811,195 and 1,769,979. FY2026 obligations are $11.8B and $200.8M. 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.

What industry leads West Virginia vs Virginia?

West Virginia’s top industry is ammunition (except small arms) manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $1.7B and $110.8B in obligations. Munitions production and computer-related services are different federal industrial bases, even for neighboring states. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Does sharing a border make Virginia and West Virginia similar in federal awards?

Not in this file. Virginia’s $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards dwarf West Virginia’s $1.7B and 14,302 awards. Per capita is $1,344.24 versus $113.44 even after adjusting for 8,811,195 vs 1,769,979 residents. Neighbor geography is not a substitute for award 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.

Are Virginia vs West Virginia figures outlays?

No. They are obligations from USAspending.gov. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag, including on production awards. The $110.8B and $1.7B totals and FY2026 amounts of $11.8B and $200.8M measure commitments, 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.