Rhode Island vs Virginia

Under a billion dollars against $110.8B

USAspending.gov obligations, not Treasury outlays, put Rhode Island at $880.6M and Virginia at $110.8B. Rhode Island is the first state in this batch whose stacked total is expressed in millions rather than billions. Virginia’s file is more than a hundred times larger.

Award counts of 11,923 versus 1,116,647 follow that scale. Rhode Island is small in land and in this award file. A confectionery-manufacturing lead does not make the $880.6M total a novelty account; it marks the largest industry grouping inside a genuinely small dollar stock.

Per capita $71.48 vs $1,344.24

Rhode Island’s $71.48 per person uses $880.6M and 1,112,308 residents. Virginia’s $1,344.24 uses $110.8B and 8,811,195. Density of people in a small state does not produce density of federal award dollars. Per capita stays low.

New England proximity to defense and research work elsewhere in the region does not automatically book obligations to Rhode Island’s place of performance. $71.48 versus $1,344.24 is the result in this aggregate.

Rhode Island’s $880.6M is the first stacked total in this assigned set expressed in millions rather than billions, and nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing is the lead slice that makes the file hard to confuse with a construction clone. That label is the largest grouping on 11,923 awards, not a claim that every action is candy. Per capita is $71.48 on 1,112,308 residents versus $1,344.24 on 8,811,195. Virginia’s $110.8B sits on 1,116,647 awards. FY2026 is $79.5M versus $11.8B. A small, dense state can still show a thin federal-award file if place of performance does not land there. USAspending.gov obligations are the unit. Treasury outlays are not.

Questions

How do Rhode Island and Virginia compare on federal spending?

Rhode Island has $880.6M in USAspending.gov obligations and 11,923 awards; Virginia has $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Spending per capita is $71.48 versus $1,344.24 on populations of 1,112,308 and 8,811,195. FY2026 obligations are $79.5M 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 Rhode Island’s top federal contracting industry?

Rhode Island’s top industry is nonchocolate confectionery manufacturing. Virginia’s is other computer related services. Those slices sit on $880.6M and $110.8B in obligations. The confectionery label is the largest grouping in Rhode Island’s file, not a complete inventory of 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.

Why is Rhode Island so far below Virginia in federal obligations?

Rhode Island’s $880.6M and 11,923 awards sit against Virginia’s $110.8B and 1,116,647 awards. Population (1,112,308 vs 8,811,195) explains only part of the gap. Per capita of $71.48 versus $1,344.24 shows Rhode Island as low-intensity, not merely small. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.

Are Rhode Island vs Virginia figures Treasury outlays?

No. SpendingVault uses USAspending.gov obligations. Outlays are cash payments and can lag. The $880.6M and $110.8B totals and FY2026 amounts of $79.5M and $11.8B measure award commitments by place of performance, not cash already paid. Those figures remain USAspending.gov obligations by place of performance, not Treasury outlays and not a score of which state deserves more work.