California vs Ohio
Federal spending comparison
California’s USAspending.gov obligation stock is $39.5B; Ohio’s is $8.1B. Ohio’s 11,883,304 residents produce a cool $61.66 per capita against California’s $135.64 on 39,431,263. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 168,038 in Ohio. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $732.7M in Ohio. Commercial and institutional building construction leads California; aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing leads Ohio. These figures are obligations, not outlays.
Key figures
- California $39.5B vs Ohio $8.1B in stacked USAspending obligations.
- California per capita $135.64 vs Ohio $61.66 on 39,431,263 vs 11,883,304 residents.
- Awards: 639,340 vs 168,038; FY2026 $5.3B vs $732.7M.
- Ohio’s peak is aircraft engine parts; California’s is commercial construction.
- Figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays.
Engine parts on an $8.1B Midwest file
Ohio’s lead NAICS is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. That propulsion-manufacturing label sits on $8.1B against California’s $39.5B commercial-construction peak. A jet-engine mix is a different federal buying pattern than a facilities mix. The packet names the peaks; it does not give shares.
Ohio files 168,038 awards. California files 639,340. Ohio’s row count is about 26 percent of California’s; its dollar stock is about 21 percent. The Midwest tape is neither sparse nor California-scale. Use the California and Ohio state hubs for agencies and recipients. Cite USAspending.gov.
Ohio’s $8.1B engine-parts stock on 11,883,304 residents is a large Census file with a cool $61.66 reading; California’s $39.5B construction-led stock on 39,431,263 residents carries $135.64. FY2026 of $732.7M versus $5.3B does not reorder that ranking.
A $61.66 reading on 11.9 million people
Ohio’s 11,883,304 residents are about 30 percent of California’s 39,431,263. Ohio’s $8.1B is about 21 percent of California’s $39.5B. Dollars lag population, which is why $61.66 trails $135.64. Ohio is a large Census file with a cooler obligation load per resident than California.
Keep those per-capita figures labeled as Census-based packet figures on USAspending.gov obligations. They are not outlays per resident. An engine-parts peak does not by itself set statewide intensity when the stacked stock is $8.1B.
Full analysis: California vs Ohio on USAspending: $39.5B against $8.1B →
Questions
- Does California or Ohio have more federal spending?
- California leads stacked USAspending.gov obligations $39.5B to Ohio’s $8.1B. California also leads spending per capita, $135.64 versus $61.66, on 39,431,263 residents against Ohio’s 11,883,304. Award counts are 639,340 in California and 168,038 in Ohio. FY2026 obligations are $5.3B in California and $732.7M in Ohio.
- What is Ohio’s lead industry versus California?
- Ohio’s top industry is aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing. California’s is commercial and institutional building construction. Those labels are the largest NAICS slices on $8.1B and $39.5B. Award counts are 168,038 in Ohio and 639,340 in California. The figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not outlays.
- Why is Ohio’s per-capita figure lower than California’s?
- The packet reports $61.66 per capita in Ohio on 11,883,304 residents and $135.64 in California on 39,431,263. Stacked stocks are $8.1B versus $39.5B, a larger multiple than the population gap runs in Ohio’s favor. Award counts are 168,038 versus 639,340.
- Are California vs Ohio figures Treasury outlays?
- No. The $39.5B and $8.1B totals, and FY2026 amounts of $5.3B and $732.7M, are USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. Spending per capita ($135.64 vs $61.66) uses Census population where present. Award counts in the packet are all-years totals, not a single fiscal year’s actions.
State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.
| California | Metric | Ohio |
|---|---|---|
| $222.27B | Total Spending | $62.69B |
| $6K | Per Capita | $5K |
| N/A | % of GDP | N/A |
| 39.4M | Population | 11.9M |
| N/A | Median Income | N/A |
| N/A | Poverty Rate | N/A |
| N/A | Bachelor Degree % | N/A |
| N/A | Median Age | N/A |
| N/A | Unemployment | N/A |
| N/A | GDP (Millions) | N/A |
Top Agencies — California
- Department of Health and Human Services$961.70B
- Social Security Administration$397.49B
- Department of Defense$301.91B
- Department of Energy$116.54B
- Department of Agriculture$85.61B
Top Agencies — Ohio
- Social Security Administration$149.68B
- Department of Health and Human Services$145.80B
- Department of Defense$29.78B
- Department of Agriculture$17.08B
- Department of Veterans Affairs$16.27B
Top Industries — California
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES$84.92B
- AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING$48.92B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$45.14B
- DIRECT HEALTH AND MEDICAL INSURANCE CARRIERS$42.95B
- COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS$37.36B
Top Industries — Ohio
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)$6.27B
- REMEDIATION SERVICES$5.11B
- AIRCRAFT ENGINE AND ENGINE PARTS MANUFACTURING$4.51B
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT BIOTECHNOLOGY)$3.04B
- ENGINEERING SERVICES$2.21B
Source: USAspending.gov · More Comparisons · California · Ohio