States › Arkansas › Washington County
County · Arkansas · FIPS 05143
Federal spending in Washington 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.
Washington County, Arkansas, received $1.3B in federal award obligations in FY2026: $4,660 for each of its 271,213 residents.
That is below the Arkansas rate of $10,445 per resident (45% of it) and below the national rate of $14,743; it ranks 73 of 75 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 82% direct payments, 11% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $5.2B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($3.4B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($745M) and Department of Education ($152M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $93M
- Grants $134M
- Direct payments $1.0B
- Loans (subsidy cost) −$5.0M
- Other assistance $2.4M
| Per resident | This county | Arkansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $4,660 | $10,445 | $14,743 |
| Contracts | $342 | $356 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $495 | $3,559 | $3,526 |
| Direct payments | $3,832 | $6,460 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | −$18 | −$1 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $9 | $71 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 73 of 75 in state · 3,001 of 3,143 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 | 27 | $166M | 40% |
| 2 | University of Arkansas | 24 | $72M | 18% |
| 3 | Hurley JV, LLP | 1 | $43M | 10% |
| 4 | Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas | 13 | $33M | 8% |
| 5 | Blue Cord Design and Construction, LLC | 1 | $31M | 8% |
| 6 | City of Fayetteville | 2 | $12M | 3% |
| 7 | Delco LLC | 1 | $12M | 3% |
| 8 | Economic Opportunity Agency of Washington County, Inc. | 2 | $11M | 3% |
| 9 | Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc | 3 | $10M | 3% |
| 10 | Nwti Education Foundation | 1 | $10M | 2% |
A further $8.7M went to recipients not shown: individuals, aggregated records and names USAspending withholds.
Largest awards performed in the county
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas's 3rd congressional district | 100% | $4.3B | $5,575 |
Other counties in Arkansas
- Pulaski County $9,881
- Benton County $4,217
- Sebastian County $6,837
- Garland County $8,055
- Saline County $5,907
- Faulkner County $5,029
- Craighead County $5,413
- Jefferson County $8,555
- Lonoke County $6,621
- White County $5,947
- Crawford County $6,848
- Baxter County $9,135
- Pope County $5,730
- Crittenden County $6,968
- Boone County $7,030
- Miller County $6,045
- Greene County $5,396
- Union County $6,785
- Independence County $6,269
- Mississippi County $6,164
- Cleburne County $8,967
- Hot Spring County $6,343
- Ouachita County $9,224
- Carroll County $6,436
- Phillips County $12,867
- Columbia County $7,581
- Poinsett County $6,758
- Polk County $7,755
- Sharp County $8,280
- Johnson County $5,722
- Logan County $6,915
- Lafayette County $24,588
- Marion County $8,199
- Ashley County $7,847
- Conway County $6,532
- Clay County $9,512
- Van Buren County $8,006
- Hempstead County $6,706
- Randolph County $6,723
- Izard County $8,619
- St. Francis County $5,691
- Clark County $5,849
- Arkansas County $7,682
- Franklin County $6,824
- Yell County $5,915
- Grant County $5,988
- Lawrence County $6,786
- Drew County $6,403
- Cross County $6,641
- Stone County $8,326
- Madison County $5,711
- Fulton County $8,043
- Little River County $8,476
- Jackson County $5,505
- Prairie County $10,182
- Searcy County $10,055
- Howard County $6,392
- Perry County $7,045
- Desha County $7,249
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Arkansas.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Washington County, Arkansas?
$1.3B in award obligations in FY2026 and $5.2B 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?
$4,660 per resident in FY2026 (population 271,213), against $10,445 for Arkansas and $14,743 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 Washington County, Arkansas?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Arkansas Department of Transportation ($166M), University of Arkansas ($72M), Hurley JV, LLP ($43M), Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas ($33M) and Blue Cord Design and Construction, LLC ($31M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Washington County, Arkansas?
Social Security Administration ($3.4B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($745M), Department of Education ($152M), Department of Transportation ($134M) and Department of Agriculture ($107M), 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.