California vs New Mexico

The $945.82 reading is the New Mexico fact

New Mexico’s 2,130,256 residents are about 5 percent of California’s 39,431,263. New Mexico’s $3.9B is about 10 percent of California’s $39.5B. That mismatch, on a small Census denominator, is the $945.82 versus $135.64 inversion. New Mexico is a small-population file with a heavy obligation load per resident. California is a large-population file with a cooler load per resident and a much larger stock.

New Mexico files only 19,233 awards against California’s 639,340. The $3.9B is concentrated in few actions. The packet does not publish average award size. The row contrast is enough to flag concentration next to the per-capita outlier.

FY2026 of $2.0B on a $3.9B stock

Fiscal year 2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $2.0B in New Mexico. New Mexico’s latest-year amount is about half of $3.9B. Recency is doing more work on the New Mexico side than in almost any other California pairing in this slice. California’s $5.3B is a smaller share of $39.5B and remains the larger latest-year figure.

Treat FY2026 as a recency slice of obligations, not Treasury cash. Do not divide $5.3B or $2.0B by 639,340 or 19,233 all-years awards. Spending per capita of $135.64 and $945.82 already uses Census denominators of 39,431,263 and 2,130,256.

Questions

Does California or New Mexico have more federal spending?

California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to New Mexico’s $3.9B. New Mexico leads spending per capita, $945.82 versus $135.64, on 2,130,256 residents against California’s 39,431,263. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 19,233 in New Mexico. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $2.0B in New Mexico.

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

The packet reports $945.82 per capita in New Mexico on 2,130,256 residents and $135.64 in California on 39,431,263. New Mexico’s $3.9B stock is small in dollars but heavy relative to its Census count, and FY2026 is $2.0B of that stock. Award counts are 19,233 versus 639,340. These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.

Do California and New Mexico have the same lead industry?

Yes. Both peak in commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels sit on $39.5B in California and $3.9B in New Mexico. Award counts are 639,340 versus 19,233. A shared peak is a mix tag, not evidence that intensity matches. The packet lists USAspending.gov obligations only.

Are California vs New Mexico figures Treasury outlays?

No. The $39.5B and $3.9B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $5.3B and $2.0B, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($135.64 vs $945.82) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.