Alabama vs California

Same construction label, a $39.5B versus $7.7B stack

Alabama’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. California’s top industry is the same label. A shared lead NAICS does not make the files interchangeable. It means the largest slice in each statewide aggregate is federal building work, sitting on $7.7B in Alabama and $39.5B in California.

Construction awards can be lumpy. A few large facilities can move a year; thousands of smaller task orders can fill the rest of the 161,254 and 639,340 rows. The lead-industry tag is a peak in the mix, not a census of every recipient. Open the Alabama and California state hubs for agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov.

Population and the $116.81 reading

Alabama’s 5,157,699 residents are about 13 percent of California’s 39,431,263. Alabama’s $7.7B is about 19 percent of California’s $39.5B. Dollars slightly outrun population, yet California still leads on $135.64 versus $116.81. The intensity gap is small compared with many California pairings in this slice.

Keep those per-capita figures labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations. They are not outlays per resident. Place-of-performance for construction can sit at a job site. The packet does not reallocate contractor headquarters.

Questions

Does Alabama or California have more federal spending?

California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to Alabama’s $7.7B. California also leads spending per capita, $135.64 versus $116.81, on 39,431,263 residents against Alabama’s 5,157,699. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 161,254 in Alabama. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $602.5M in Alabama.

Do Alabama and California have the same lead industry?

Yes. Both peak in commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels sit on $7.7B in Alabama and $39.5B in California. Award counts are 161,254 versus 639,340. A shared peak is a mix tag, not evidence that the files are the same size. The figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

Is Alabama’s per-capita figure close to California’s?

The packet reports $116.81 per capita in Alabama on 5,157,699 residents and $135.64 in California on 39,431,263. The intensity gap is modest compared with many other California pairings. Stacked stocks are $7.7B versus $39.5B. The packet lists USAspending.gov obligations only.

Are Alabama vs California figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $7.7B and $39.5B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $602.5M and $5.3B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($116.81 vs $135.64) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.