California vs New Jersey

1,162,765 awards: New Jersey’s tape is the story

New Jersey’s award count is the inversion in this pair. 1,162,765 actions on $8.1B means many small bookings relative to California’s 639,340 actions on $39.5B. California still leads on dollars and on per capita ($135.64 vs $92.49). New Jersey leads on rows. The packet does not publish average award size. The contrast in counts versus stocks is enough to flag a high-frequency file on the New Jersey side.

Population does not explain the row count. New Jersey’s 9,500,851 residents are about 24 percent of California’s 39,431,263, yet New Jersey’s awards exceed California’s 639,340. The pharmaceutical-preparation peak is consistent with many discrete manufacturing and related actions mixed into a busy statewide tape.

Drug manufacturing in New Jersey, buildings in California

New Jersey’s lead NAICS is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. California’s lead NAICS is commercial and institutional building construction. A drug-manufacturing peak on $8.1B is a different federal buying pattern than a facilities peak on $39.5B. The packet names those peaks; it does not give shares.

Use the California and New Jersey state hubs for agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov. Do not treat the pharmaceutical-preparation peak as an outlay category. The 1,162,765 and 639,340 rows include many other NAICS codes.

Questions

Does California or New Jersey have more federal spending?

California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to New Jersey’s $8.1B. California also leads spending per capita, $135.64 versus $92.49, on 39,431,263 residents against New Jersey’s 9,500,851. New Jersey leads on awards: 1,162,765 versus California’s 639,340. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $878.7M in New Jersey.

Why does New Jersey have more awards than California?

The packet reports 1,162,765 awards in New Jersey on $8.1B versus 639,340 in California on $39.5B. New Jersey’s lead industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing, a mix that can generate many discrete actions. Spending per capita is $92.49 versus $135.64. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

What industries lead in California and New Jersey?

California’s top industry is commercial and institutional building construction. New Jersey’s is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $39.5B and $8.1B. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 1,162,765 in New Jersey. Those peaks are mix labels on the stacked stocks, not inventories of every award.

Are California vs New Jersey figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $39.5B and $8.1B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $5.3B and $878.7M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($135.64 vs $92.49) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.