Fed Spend Map

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County · Arkansas · FIPS 05041

Federal spending in Desha County, AR

Population 9,984 (2025 estimate) · per-resident rank 13 of 75 counties in Arkansas · congressional district AR-01

Calhoun County: $36,273 per residentLafayette County: $25,423 per residentMonroe County: $14,960 per residentPhillips County: $14,359 per residentWoodruff County: $13,042 per residentClay County: $11,926 per residentPrairie County: $11,731 per residentSearcy County: $11,175 per residentPulaski County: $10,693 per residentBaxter County: $10,130 per residentCleburne County: $9,961 per residentOuachita County: $9,837 per residentDesha County: $9,508 per residentIzard County: $9,458 per residentJefferson County: $9,418 per residentArkansas County: $9,339 per residentLittle River County: $9,202 per residentGarland County: $9,136 per residentLee County: $9,122 per residentStone County: $9,068 per residentSharp County: $9,051 per residentPerry County: $9,017 per residentMarion County: $8,977 per residentVan Buren County: $8,803 per residentFulton County: $8,751 per residentChicot County: $8,683 per residentAshley County: $8,635 per residentPolk County: $8,518 per residentColumbia County: $8,474 per residentDallas County: $8,360 per residentNewton County: $8,274 per residentCross County: $8,010 per residentCrittenden County: $7,867 per residentMontgomery County: $7,834 per residentSebastian County: $7,796 per residentCleveland County: $7,763 per residentBoone County: $7,697 per residentScott County: $7,659 per residentLogan County: $7,592 per residentCrawford County: $7,562 per residentUnion County: $7,544 per residentRandolph County: $7,540 per residentDrew County: $7,535 per residentHempstead County: $7,518 per residentLonoke County: $7,497 per residentFranklin County: $7,482 per residentLawrence County: $7,463 per residentPoinsett County: $7,442 per residentNevada County: $7,411 per residentPike County: $7,401 per residentConway County: $7,280 per residentMississippi County: $7,132 per residentIndependence County: $7,067 per residentCarroll County: $7,006 per residentHot Spring County: $6,954 per residentBradley County: $6,895 per residentHoward County: $6,856 per residentGrant County: $6,834 per residentClark County: $6,625 per residentMiller County: $6,567 per residentWhite County: $6,560 per residentSaline County: $6,500 per residentMadison County: $6,488 per residentYell County: $6,474 per residentPope County: $6,472 per residentJohnson County: $6,329 per residentJackson County: $6,327 per residentSt. Francis County: $6,233 per residentCraighead County: $6,199 per residentGreene County: $5,946 per residentFaulkner County: $5,662 per residentWashington County: $5,227 per residentLincoln County: $5,211 per residentSevier County: $5,039 per residentBenton County: $4,970 per resident
low → high per resident, FY2026 this countyArkansas counties; boundaries US Census Bureau.

USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026.

Desha County, Arkansas, received $95M in federal award obligations in FY2026: $9,508 for each of its 9,984 residents.

That is in line with the Arkansas rate of $10,445 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 13 of 75 counties in the state.

The FY2026 mix was 94% direct payments.

Obligations were down 10% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $419M.

Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($235M), Department of Agriculture ($82M) and Department of Transportation ($51M).

$95Mobligations performed in the county, FY2026FY2026 (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026) · obligations
$9,508per residentFY2026 · obligationsArkansas: $10,445 · US: $14,744
$419Mfive-year totalFY2023–FY2027 to date · obligations
$0FY2027 to dateFY2027, through 30 Sep 2026 · obligations
9awards of $1.0M+ begun here since FY2023FY2023–FY2027

Per resident, by award type FY2026

Per residentThis countyArkansasUnited States
All award obligations$9,508$10,445$14,744
Contracts−$4$356$2,007
Grants$155$3,559$3,528
Direct payments$8,900$6,460$9,185
Loans (subsidy cost)$0−$1−$16
Other assistance$457$71$40
Rank by per-resident rate13 of 75 in state · 735 of 3,144 US43 of 51 states—

Direct payments include Social Security, Medicare and similar benefit records that USAspending attributes to a county; Medicare payments are attributed to the county of the administrative contractor, which can lift or lower a county's rate a great deal. Loans count the subsidy cost, not the face value.

Obligations by fiscal year

$106M
$113M
$106M
$95M
$0
FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026FY2027*
Award obligations with a primary place of performance in Desha County, by fiscal year and award type. *FY2027 runs to the data date and is incomplete.

Who funds the county FY2022–FY2025

Awarding agencies

Social Security Administration$235M
Department of Agriculture$82M
Department of Transportation$51M
Department of Veterans Affairs$30M
Department of Housing and Urban Development$14M
Railroad Retirement Board$7.3M
Department of Defense$6.5M
Department of Homeland Security$757K

Assistance programs

96.002 Social Security Retirement Insurance$158M
96.001 Social Security Disability Insurance$38M
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction$25M
64.109 Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$22M
96.006 Supplemental Security Income$21M
96.004 Social Security Survivors Insurance$18M
57.001 Social Insurance for Railroad Workers$7.3M
14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers$6.8M

Contract industries by NAICS sector

Manufacturing$15M
Construction$6.4M

Cross-tabulations cover the four closed fiscal years FY2022–FY2025 (the 24 largest agencies, 40 largest listings and all NAICS sectors), fetched 18 Sep 2026.

Recipients with the largest awards performed here $1.0M+ awards since FY2023

#Recipient organisationAwardsAward valueShare
1Arkansas Department of Transportation6$27M66%
2Gulf Pacific Rice Co., LLC3$14M34%

Largest awards performed in the county

RecipientAwarding agencyTypeAward valueBegunRecord
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantProject Grant (B)$13M10 Sep 2024USAspending
Gulf Pacific Rice Co., LLCDepartment of AgricultureAgricultural Marketing ServiceContractDefinitive Contract$7.9M13 Feb 2023USAspending
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantProject Grant (B)$3.8M10 Sep 2024USAspending
Gulf Pacific Rice Co., LLCDepartment of AgricultureAgricultural Marketing ServiceContractDefinitive Contract$3.5M4 May 2023USAspending
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantProject Grant (B)$3.3M10 Sep 2024USAspending
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantProject Grant (B)$3.1M28 Aug 2023USAspending
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantFormula Grant (a)$2.4M13 Dec 2022USAspending
Gulf Pacific Rice Co., LLCDepartment of AgricultureAgricultural Marketing ServiceContractDefinitive Contract$2.2M1 Aug 2023USAspending
Arkansas Department of TransportationDepartment of TransportationFederal Highway AdministrationGrantFormula Grant (a)$1.0M28 Aug 2023USAspending

Congressional districts

DistrictShare of county land areaDistrict FY2026 obligationsPer resident
Arkansas's 1st congressional district100%$5.9B$7,850

Other counties in Arkansas

Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Arkansas.

Questions and answers

How much federal spending goes to Desha County, Arkansas?

$95M in award obligations in FY2026 and $419M since FY2023, counting awards whose primary place of performance is in the county. Obligations are commitments, not payments.

How much federal spending per person is that?

$9,508 per resident in FY2026 (population 9,984), against $10,445 for Arkansas and $14,744 nationally. Direct payments such as Social Security and Medicare are included; the table on this page splits the rate by award type.

Which recipients dominate Desha County, Arkansas?

By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Arkansas Department of Transportation ($27M) and Gulf Pacific Rice Co., LLC ($14M). Individuals are never listed.

Which agencies fund Desha County, Arkansas?

Social Security Administration ($235M), Department of Agriculture ($82M), Department of Transportation ($51M), Department of Veterans Affairs ($30M) and Department of Housing and Urban Development ($14M), over FY2022–FY2025.

What does "place of performance" mean here?

USAspending records where the work is done or the payment is directed, as reported by the awarding agency. Some awards, especially grants to state governments, carry only a state-level location and are not attributed to any county or district; Medicare payments are attributed to the county of the administrative contractor.

Provenance

Source: USAspending.gov API v2, spending-by-geography (place of performance, county layer) by fiscal year and award type, loaded 30 Sep 2026; award lists from the award search endpoint; cross-tabulations for FY2022–FY2025. Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 county estimates (USAspending's population figure where the Census file has none, as for Connecticut's former counties). Boundaries: Census cartographic boundary files (1:20m). Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections.