New Jersey vs Virginia

Almost even on actions, not remotely even on dollars

New Jersey’s 1,162,765 awards edge Virginia’s 1,116,647. That is one of the tightest action comparisons in this batch. The dollar comparison is not tight. $8.1B versus $110.8B is roughly 1-to-14. A dense Northeast state can generate a huge modification-and-grant feed without accumulating a Virginia-sized obligation stock. New Jersey is that case, alongside Pennsylvania and Illinois in the “more actions, fewer dollars” group.

Populations do not rescue the story. 9,500,851 versus 8,811,195 is a near match. When headcount is similar, the $8.1B versus $110.8B gap is a numerator gap: much more federal award value is coded to Virginia by place of performance on USAspending.gov.

New Jersey versus Virginia is the closest population match among the large-action inversions. 9,500,851 versus 8,811,195 is nearly even. 1,162,765 versus 1,116,647 awards is nearly even. $8.1B versus $110.8B is not even. When two of three volume columns agree and the dollar column does not, the dollar column is the one that must stay in the sentence.

Pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing vs computer-related services

New Jersey’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing — the same leading description Texas carries, on a much smaller $8.1B stock versus Texas’s $72.7B. Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Pills versus IT services is the industry contrast at the top of each mix.

A pharma lead plus 1,162,765 actions suggests a busy award file that is not, in aggregate, high-dollar the way Virginia’s computer-services book is. This page does not invent an average award size. The two published columns already show the inversion: more actions in New Jersey, more dollars in Virginia.

Pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing as New Jersey’s top industry matches Texas and North Carolina in this batch, on a $8.1B stock rather than Texas’s $72.7B or North Carolina’s $6.3B. New Jersey’s signature in the set is the action inversion: more awards than Virginia, a small fraction of Virginia’s dollars, with a pharma lead rather than a residual manufacturing lead.

Questions

Does New Jersey have more federal awards than Virginia?

Yes, slightly. New Jersey has 1,162,765 awards in this USAspending aggregate; Virginia has 1,116,647. New Jersey still trails on obligations, $8.1B versus $110.8B. Award count measures actions, including modifications, not obligation value. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

How does New Jersey federal spending compare with Virginia?

New Jersey shows $8.1B in USAspending obligations; Virginia shows $110.8B. Populations are close: 9,500,851 in New Jersey and 8,811,195 in Virginia. Totals are obligations, not Treasury outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What is New Jersey’s federal spending per capita vs Virginia?

New Jersey’s spending per capita is $92.49. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Both divide USAspending obligations by Census population. Per-capita is a scaling statistic, not a payment to residents. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.

What top industries appear for New Jersey and Virginia?

New Jersey’s top industry is pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those NAICS descriptions are the leading slices in SpendingVault’s aggregates, not a complete list of either state’s federal work. Figures come from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending.gov award records. They are obligations — recorded commitments — not Treasury outlays, and FY 2026 is the latest year in the comparison.