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Virginia vs Wisconsin

Federal spending comparison

Virginia records $110.8B in federal obligations on USAspending.gov. Wisconsin records $10.0B. Virginia’s Census population is 8,811,195; Wisconsin’s is 5,960,975. FY 2026 is the latest year in this pair. Both dollar figures are obligations, not Treasury outlays Virginia’s 1,116,647 awards and $1,344.24 per capita compare with Wisconsin’s 181,419 awards and $407.20 per capita. Insurance carriers lead Wisconsin’s mix.

Key figures

  • Virginia $110.8B vs Wisconsin $10.0B in USAspending obligations.
  • Populations 8,811,195 vs 5,960,975; per-capita $1,344.24 vs $407.20.
  • Awards: 1,116,647 (VA) vs 181,419 (WI).
  • Top industries: other computer related services vs direct health and medical insurance carriers.
  • FY 2026 latest year; obligations, not outlays.

An order-of-magnitude dollar gap

Virginia’s $110.8B is about eleven times Wisconsin’s $10.0B. Virginia’s population is about 1.5 times Wisconsin’s 5,960,975. The obligation gap is not a headcount gap. USAspending.gov place-of-performance puts a large professional-services stock in Virginia; Wisconsin’s federal book, even with a distinctive insurance lead, is much smaller on that ledger.

This pair lists Virginia first in the slug, so the row reads hub-versus-Midwest rather than challenger-versus-hub. The underlying numbers are the same either way: $110.8B against $10.0B, 1,116,647 awards against 181,419.

Wisconsin’s 5,960,975 residents are about two-thirds of Virginia’s 8,811,195. Wisconsin’s $10.0B is about one-eleventh of Virginia’s $110.8B. Scaling by population does not close the gap; it only shrinks it slightly, which is why per-capita still shows $407.20 versus $1,344.24 rather than a tie.

Computer-related services vs health insurance carriers

Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Wisconsin’s is direct health and medical insurance carriers — the same insurance lead Arizona shows in this batch, on a smaller $10.0B stock. Insurance as a top federal NAICS code often points to health-plan and related coverage awards. Computer-related services points to IT work around federal buyers.

Wisconsin’s 181,419 awards are well below Virginia’s 1,116,647. An insurance-heavy lead can sit on fewer actions than a services-modification factory. The packet does not break Wisconsin’s 181,419 actions by industry, so the insurance label is the largest slice only.

Direct health and medical insurance carriers as Wisconsin’s top industry matches Arizona’s leading description, on $10.0B versus Arizona’s $13.1B. This page stays on Wisconsin. Insurance as a federal top code is a benefits-administration signal, not a factory signal. Virginia’s other computer related services label is the IT-services counterpart under 1,116,647 awards versus Wisconsin’s 181,419.

Full analysis: Virginia vs Wisconsin on USAspending →

Questions

How does Wisconsin federal spending compare with Virginia?
Wisconsin shows $10.0B in USAspending obligations; Virginia shows $110.8B. Wisconsin’s population is 5,960,975 versus 8,811,195 in Virginia. Totals are obligations, not Treasury outlays. FY 2026 is the latest year in the pair. 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 show up for Virginia and Wisconsin?
Virginia’s top industry is other computer related services. Wisconsin’s is direct health and medical insurance carriers. 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.
What is Wisconsin’s federal spending per capita vs Virginia?
Wisconsin’s spending per capita is $407.20. Virginia’s is $1,344.24. Both divide USAspending obligations by Census population (5,960,975 and 8,811,195). 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.
How many federal awards are in Wisconsin versus Virginia?
Wisconsin has 181,419 awards in this aggregate; Virginia has 1,116,647. Award counts include contracts, grants, and modifications. Virginia also leads on dollars, $110.8B versus Wisconsin’s $10.0B. 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.

State comparison from SpendingVault aggregates of USAspending obligations. Per-capita uses Census population where present.

Side-by-side federal spending and demographic comparison between Virginia and Wisconsin.
VirginiaMetricWisconsin
$68.13BTotal Spending$57.75B
$8KPer Capita$10K
N/A% of GDPN/A
8.8MPopulation6.0M
N/AMedian IncomeN/A
N/APoverty RateN/A
N/ABachelor Degree %N/A
N/AMedian AgeN/A
N/AUnemploymentN/A
N/AGDP (Millions)N/A

Top Agencies — Virginia

  • Department of Defense$325.98B
  • Department of Health and Human Services$147.16B
  • Social Security Administration$106.40B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$103.76B
  • Small Business Administration$33.43B

Top Agencies — Wisconsin

  • Department of Health and Human Services$186.65B
  • Social Security Administration$83.56B
  • Department of Defense$20.74B
  • Department of Veterans Affairs$16.17B
  • Department of Agriculture$9.91B

Top Industries — Virginia

  • COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES$72.99B
  • SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$69.56B
  • DIRECT HEALTH AND MEDICAL INSURANCE CARRIERS$61.44B
  • ENGINEERING SERVICES$60.92B
  • OTHER COMPUTER RELATED SERVICES$38.52B

Top Industries — Wisconsin

  • OFFICES OF PHYSICIANS (EXCEPT MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS)$5.99B
  • MILITARY ARMORED VEHICLE, TANK, AND TANK COMPONENT MANUFACTURING$5.66B
  • TRUCK TRAILER MANUFACTURING$4.15B
  • DIRECT HEALTH AND MEDICAL INSURANCE CARRIERS$2.74B
  • SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRING$2.73B