Nevada vs Virginia

A $2.9B desert-state file vs a $110.8B capital-region file

Obligations from USAspending.gov, not Treasury outlays, put Nevada at $2.9B and Virginia at $110.8B. Award counts are 45,442 and 1,116,647. Nevada wins federal work. It does not host Virginia’s density of professional-services awards.

Population (3,267,467 vs 8,811,195) is about a 2.7-to-1 ratio. Obligations are about a 39-to-1 ratio. The extra gap is the federal-award intensity difference this comparison exists to show.

Per capita: $171.84 vs $1,344.24

Nevada’s $171.84 per resident is higher than several Plains and Midwest states in this set, and still far below Virginia’s $1,344.24. Dividing $2.9B by 3,267,467 people and $110.8B by 8,811,195 people is the entire per-capita method. It does not convert either total into take-home income or state tax collections.

A reader who only remembers that Nevada is a fast-growing state might expect a thicker federal-award file. $171.84 versus $1,344.24 is the measured result in this aggregate.

Nevada’s automobile-manufacturing lead is the mix fact that should be quoted before anyone reaches for a generic Western-state template. The dollar facts remain $2.9B versus Virginia’s $110.8B, 45,442 awards versus 1,116,647, and $171.84 per capita on 3,267,467 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195. FY2026’s $561.5M versus $11.8B shows Nevada’s latest year as a large share of its stack and still a small number next to Virginia’s current layer. Auto-related production awards and computer-related services awards can both be federal obligations without being the same industrial base. USAspending.gov is the source. Outlays are not substituted in.

Questions

How do Nevada and Virginia compare on federal spending?

Nevada has $2.9B in USAspending.gov obligations and 45,442 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Spending per capita is $171.84 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 3,267,467 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $561.5M 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.

What is Nevada’s top federal contracting industry vs Virginia’s?

Nevada’s top industry is automobile manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those labels are the largest industry slices on $2.9B and $110.8B in obligations. They do not list every NAICS code in either state file. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Is Nevada close to Virginia in federal spending per person?

No. Nevada is at $171.84 per capita; Virginia is at $1,344.24. Nevada’s $2.9B is divided across 3,267,467 residents; Virginia’s $110.8B is divided across 8,811,195. Nevada’s rate is higher than some similarly sized dollar files, and still far below Virginia’s. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Nevada vs Virginia totals outlays or obligations?

Obligations from USAspending.gov. Treasury outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $2.9B and $110.8B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $561.5M and $11.8B measure commitments on awards with a place of performance in each state. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.