States › Colorado › La Plata County
County · Colorado · FIPS 08067
Federal spending in La Plata County, CO
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.
In FY2026, $466M in federal awards named La Plata County, Colorado, as the primary place of performance, $8,190 per resident.
That is below the Colorado rate of $11,062 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 29 of 64 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 73% direct payments, 19% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $1.7B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($1.0B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($107M) and Department of Transportation ($97M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $33M
- Grants $90M
- Direct payments $341M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $49K
- Other assistance $2.2M
| Per resident | This county | Colorado | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $8,190 | $11,062 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $579 | $2,252 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $1,575 | $3,063 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $5,996 | $5,689 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $1 | $22 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $39 | $35 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 29 of 64 in state · 1,245 of 3,144 US | 39 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 | Colorado Department of Transportation | 8 | $92M | 32% |
| 2 | Southern Ute Indian Tribe | 5 | $52M | 18% |
| 3 | Tribal Energy Consortium | 1 | $50M | 17% |
| 4 | City of Durango | 7 | $28M | 10% |
| 5 | Durango 4-C Council, Inc. | 2 | $18M | 6% |
| 6 | Precision, LLC | 1 | $15M | 5% |
| 7 | Valor Healthcare Inc | 5 | $7.2M | 3% |
| 8 | Fort Lewis College | 5 | $7.1M | 2% |
| 9 | Agile Space Industries, Inc. | 4 | $6.8M | 2% |
| 10 | Ignacio School District 11 JT | 4 | $6.8M | 2% |
A further $3.6M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $59M | 23 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
| Tribal Energy Consortium | Department of Energy | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $50M | 15 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| Southern Ute Indian Tribe | Department of CommerceNational Telecommunications and Information Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $44M | 23 Nov 2022 | USAspending |
| Precision, LLC | Department of AgricultureForest Service | ContractDelivery Order | $15M | 3 Apr 2024 | USAspending |
| City of Durango | Department of TransportationFederal Aviation Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $13M | 9 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Durango 4-C Council, Inc. | Department of Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and Families | GrantProject Grant (B) | $13M | 30 Aug 2023 | USAspending |
| Colorado Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $13M | 1 Jun 2023 | USAspending |
| Colorado Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $7.6M | 7 Jul 2023 | USAspending |
| Durango 4-C Council, Inc. | Department of Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and Families | GrantProject Grant (B) | $4.9M | 23 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Upper Pine River Fire Protection District | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $4.4M | 30 Dec 2025 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado's 3rd congressional district | 100% | $5.7B | $7,746 |
Other counties in Colorado
- El Paso County $11,794
- Denver County $9,212
- Jefferson County $9,560
- Adams County $8,137
- Douglas County $10,855
- Arapahoe County $5,937
- Boulder County $9,744
- Larimer County $6,661
- Weld County $4,353
- Pueblo County $7,736
- Mesa County $7,675
- Broomfield County $5,562
- Montrose County $8,558
- Fremont County $7,554
- Garfield County $5,708
- Delta County $8,566
- Montezuma County $10,095
- Eagle County $4,601
- Teller County $9,217
- Summit County $5,885
- Morgan County $6,082
- Elbert County $6,025
- Chaffee County $7,592
- Routt County $5,917
- Las Animas County $9,693
- Archuleta County $9,740
- Park County $7,245
- Pitkin County $7,848
- Logan County $6,292
- Otero County $7,295
- Alamosa County $7,255
- Moffat County $8,070
- Gunnison County $6,047
- Rio Grande County $8,710
- Huerfano County $12,592
- Clear Creek County $9,733
- Yuma County $8,831
- Grand County $5,211
- Custer County $14,087
- Prowers County $6,217
- Kit Carson County $8,361
- Ouray County $9,839
- Bent County $8,514
- Conejos County $6,421
- Washington County $10,085
- San Miguel County $5,626
- Baca County $12,974
- Saguache County $6,444
- Rio Blanco County $6,487
- Phillips County $8,236
- Costilla County $9,574
- Lincoln County $6,184
- Gilpin County $5,742
- Lake County $4,137
- Crowley County $4,482
- Cheyenne County $12,934
- Kiowa County $14,790
- Sedgwick County $8,746
- Dolores County $6,572
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Colorado.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to La Plata County, Colorado?
$466M in award obligations in FY2026 and $1.7B 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?
$8,190 per resident in FY2026 (population 56,898), against $11,062 for Colorado 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 La Plata County, Colorado?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Colorado Department of Transportation ($92M), Southern Ute Indian Tribe ($52M), Tribal Energy Consortium ($50M), City of Durango ($28M) and Durango 4-C Council, Inc. ($18M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund La Plata County, Colorado?
Social Security Administration ($1.0B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($107M), Department of Transportation ($97M), Department of Agriculture ($70M) and Department of Energy ($55M), 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.