States › Arkansas › Sebastian County
County · Arkansas · FIPS 05131
Federal spending in Sebastian County, AR
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.
Sebastian County, Arkansas, received $1.0B in federal award obligations in FY2026: $7,796 for each of its 130,641 residents.
That is below the Arkansas rate of $10,445 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 35 of 75 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 76% direct payments, 18% contracts.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $3.8B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($2.4B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($356M) and Department of Defense ($325M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $180M
- Grants $60M
- Direct payments $777M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $276K
- Other assistance $1.1M
| Per resident | This county | Arkansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,796 | $10,445 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $1,377 | $356 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $463 | $3,559 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $5,945 | $6,460 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $2 | −$1 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $9 | $71 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 35 of 75 in state · 1,453 of 3,144 US | 43 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
Who funds the county FY2022–FY2025
Awarding agencies
Assistance programs
Contract industries by NAICS sector
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 organisation | Awards | Award value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas Department of Transportation | 22 | $116M | 23% |
| 2 | BL Harbert International LLC | 2 | $102M | 20% |
| 3 | Gilbane Federal JV | 1 | $44M | 9% |
| 4 | Qayaq Government Solutions LLC | 2 | $41M | 8% |
| 5 | Pono Aina Management LLC | 3 | $40M | 8% |
| 6 | Stryten Energy LLC | 17 | $38M | 8% |
| 7 | Cerris Builders, Inc | 1 | $38M | 8% |
| 8 | Fort Smith Regional Airport | 5 | $34M | 7% |
| 9 | Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. | 4 | $25M | 5% |
| 10 | Ahtna-CDM Smith JV | 2 | $23M | 5% |
A further $1.4M went to recipients not shown: individuals, aggregated records and names USAspending withholds.
Largest awards performed in the county
| Recipient | Awarding agency | Type | Award value | Begun | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BL Harbert International LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $61M | 11 Dec 2025 | USAspending |
| Gilbane Federal JV | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $44M | 28 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| BL Harbert International LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $41M | 3 Apr 2026 | USAspending |
| Arkansas Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $39M | 13 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| Cerris Builders, Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $38M | 27 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Pono Aina Management LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | ContractDelivery Order | $37M | 28 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Qayaq Government Solutions LLC | Department of Energy | ContractDefinitive Contract | $33M | 29 Sep 2026 | USAspending |
| Fort Smith Regional Airport | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | ContractDefinitive Contract | $19M | 1 Jun 2023 | USAspending |
| McMillen, Inc. | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $17M | 25 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Ahtna-CDM Smith JV | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | ContractDelivery Order | $15M | 28 Sep 2023 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas's 3rd congressional district | 60% | $4.9B | $6,364 |
| Arkansas's 4th congressional district | 41% | $5.5B | $7,418 |
Other counties in Arkansas
- Pulaski County $10,693
- Benton County $4,970
- Washington County $5,227
- Garland County $9,136
- Saline County $6,500
- Faulkner County $5,662
- Craighead County $6,199
- Jefferson County $9,418
- Lonoke County $7,497
- White County $6,560
- Crawford County $7,562
- Baxter County $10,130
- Pope County $6,472
- Crittenden County $7,867
- Boone County $7,697
- Greene County $5,946
- Union County $7,544
- Miller County $6,567
- Independence County $7,067
- Mississippi County $7,132
- Cleburne County $9,961
- Hot Spring County $6,954
- Ouachita County $9,837
- Carroll County $7,006
- Phillips County $14,359
- Columbia County $8,474
- Calhoun County $36,273
- Clay County $11,926
- Poinsett County $7,442
- Johnson County $6,329
- Polk County $8,518
- Logan County $7,592
- Sharp County $9,051
- Marion County $8,977
- Conway County $7,280
- Ashley County $8,635
- Lafayette County $25,423
- Arkansas County $9,339
- Hempstead County $7,518
- Van Buren County $8,803
- Randolph County $7,540
- Clark County $6,625
- Izard County $9,458
- St. Francis County $6,233
- Franklin County $7,482
- Cross County $8,010
- Yell County $6,474
- Drew County $7,535
- Grant County $6,834
- Lawrence County $7,463
- Madison County $6,488
- Stone County $9,068
- Fulton County $8,751
- Little River County $9,202
- Jackson County $6,327
- Desha County $9,508
- Monroe County $14,960
- Perry County $9,017
- Prairie County $11,731
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Arkansas.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Sebastian County, Arkansas?
$1.0B in award obligations in FY2026 and $3.8B 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?
$7,796 per resident in FY2026 (population 130,641), 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 Sebastian County, Arkansas?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Arkansas Department of Transportation ($116M), BL Harbert International LLC ($102M), Gilbane Federal JV ($44M), Qayaq Government Solutions LLC ($41M) and Pono Aina Management LLC ($40M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Sebastian County, Arkansas?
Social Security Administration ($2.4B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($356M), Department of Defense ($325M), Department of Transportation ($86M) and Department of Energy ($82M), 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.