Mississippi vs Virginia

Two hundred thirty-three thousand awards on $2.9B

USAspending.gov obligations put Mississippi at $2.9B and Virginia at $110.8B. Mississippi’s 233,003 awards are the standout statistic in this pair. That is a high action count for a sub-$3B dollar file. Many of those actions can be modifications, delivery orders, or smaller yard-related transactions sitting under a shipbuilding-led mix.

Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards still dwarf Mississippi’s count, and $110.8B dwarfs $2.9B. The point is not that Mississippi out-counts Virginia. The point is that Mississippi’s file is granular: lots of rows, less dollar mass than the count might imply to a casual scanner.

Per capita stays far apart

Spending per capita is $115.31 in Mississippi and $1,344.24 in Virginia. Census populations are 2,943,045 and 8,811,195. Virginia has about three times Mississippi’s people and about 38 times the obligations. Per capita is the remainder after that population factor is removed.

A shipyard state can still be a low-intensity state on a per-person basis if the yard dollars do not offset a smaller overall federal-award economy. $115.31 versus $1,344.24 is that result.

Mississippi’s 233,003 awards are the statistic that changes how a reader should scan $2.9B. A low-count, high-dollar file would imply a few huge actions. This file implies many smaller or modified actions under a ship-building-and-repairing lead. Virginia’s $110.8B on 1,116,647 awards is still larger in both columns. Per capita of $115.31 on 2,943,045 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195 residents is the intensity remainder after population is divided out. FY2026’s $339.4M versus $11.8B is recency. None of those figures is a Treasury outlay. They are USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance.

Questions

How much federal spending is in Mississippi vs Virginia?

Mississippi has $2.9B in USAspending.gov obligations and Virginia has $110.8B. Award counts are 233,003 and 1,116,647. Spending per capita is $115.31 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 2,943,045 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $339.4M and $11.8B. 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.

Why does Mississippi have 233,003 federal awards on only $2.9B?

Mississippi’s 233,003 awards sit on a $2.9B obligation stock, which implies many smaller or modified actions rather than a few huge standalone awards. The top industry is ship building and repairing, a mix that often includes long modification chains. Virginia’s $110.8B sits on 1,116,647 awards led by other computer related services.

What is Mississippi’s top industry compared with Virginia’s?

Mississippi’s top industry is ship building and repairing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $2.9B and $110.8B in obligations. They describe the largest industry grouping in each state file, not every award. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Mississippi vs Virginia figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can trail commitments, especially on multi-year shipyard work. The $2.9B and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $339.4M and $11.8B are obligation aggregates by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments.