New York vs Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s $28.1B outruns New York’s $11.9B

These figures are USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays. Pennsylvania’s $28.1B is about 2.4 times New York’s $11.9B. Among two large northeastern states, the award-dollar lead belongs to Pennsylvania in this aggregate. That is the first fact to hold before anyone reaches for familiar stories about Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, or defense plants.

Award counts run the same direction as dollars. Pennsylvania has 1,468,918 awards; New York has 705,506. Pennsylvania’s file is busier in rows and heavier in dollars. New York’s 705,506 awards on $11.9B is still a large federal footprint; it is simply attached to a thinner stock than Pennsylvania’s $28.1B on 1,468,918 actions.

More people in New York, more dollars per person in Pennsylvania

New York’s 19,867,248 residents exceed Pennsylvania’s 13,078,751. Spending per capita still favors Pennsylvania: $239.68 versus $70.36. After dividing $28.1B and $11.9B by those Census counts, Pennsylvania remains about 3.4 times as intensive. Population is not the engine of this ranking.

A $70.36 per-person reading in New York means a huge private economy can coexist with a thinner federal-award intensity than Pennsylvania shows at $239.68. This table scores USAspending place of performance, not GDP. New York’s 19,867,248 residents do not produce a larger obligation stock than Pennsylvania’s 13,078,751.

Questions

Which state has more federal spending, New York or Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania leads in USAspending.gov obligations: $28.1B versus New York’s $11.9B. Pennsylvania has more awards (1,468,918 vs 705,506) despite fewer people (13,078,751 vs 19,867,248). Spending per capita is $70.36 in New York and $239.68 in Pennsylvania. FY2026 obligations are $1.4B and $3.1B. These are obligations, not Treasury outlays.

Why does Pennsylvania show more federal obligations than New York despite fewer people?

Pennsylvania’s $28.1B on 13,078,751 residents produces $239.68 per capita. New York’s $11.9B on 19,867,248 residents produces $70.36. Award counts also favor Pennsylvania (1,468,918 vs 705,506). Pennsylvania’s lead is both dollars and rows, not merely intensity. Top industries differ: medicinal and botanical manufacturing (PA) vs other communications equipment manufacturing (NY).

What industries lead New York and Pennsylvania federal awards?

New York’s top industry is other communications equipment manufacturing. Pennsylvania’s is medicinal and botanical manufacturing. Those slices sit on $11.9B and $28.1B in obligations. They mark the largest grouping in each file, not every award in either state. Award counts are 705,506 in New York and 1,468,918 in Pennsylvania.

Are New York vs Pennsylvania figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $11.9B and $28.1B stacked totals and FY2026 amounts of $1.4B and $3.1B measure award commitments by place of performance, not Monthly Treasury Statement payments. Place of performance can differ from where the paying agency sits.