States › Illinois › Clay County
County · Illinois · FIPS 17025
Federal spending in Clay County, IL
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.
Clay County, Illinois, received $97M in federal award obligations in FY2026: $7,551 for each of its 12,793 residents.
That is below the Illinois rate of $10,184 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 36 of 102 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 96% direct payments.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $403M.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($262M), Department of Agriculture ($84M) and Department of Transportation ($26M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts −$107
- Grants $3.6M
- Direct payments $93M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $204K
- Other assistance $167K
| Per resident | This county | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,551 | $10,184 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $0 | $903 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $281 | $3,196 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $7,242 | $6,073 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $16 | −$16 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $13 | $28 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 36 of 102 in state · 1,626 of 3,144 US | 46 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 | Wabash Telephone Cooperative Inc | 2 | $29M | 66% |
| 2 | Illinois Department of Transportation | 3 | $12M | 26% |
| 3 | County of Clay | 2 | $3.5M | 8% |
Largest awards performed in the county
| Recipient | Awarding agency | Type | Award value | Begun | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wabash Telephone Cooperative Inc | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | GrantProject Grant (B) | $24M | 31 Jul 2023 | USAspending |
| Illinois Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $5.5M | 24 Apr 2024 | USAspending |
| Wabash Telephone Cooperative Inc | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | GrantProject Grant (B) | $5.0M | 16 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Illinois Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $4.8M | 23 Jul 2024 | USAspending |
| County of Clay | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | GrantProject Grant (B) | $2.5M | 8 Feb 2024 | USAspending |
| Illinois Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $1.2M | 18 Jan 2024 | USAspending |
| County of Clay | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | GrantProject Grant (B) | $1.0M | 31 Jan 2023 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois's 12th congressional district | 100% | $5.7B | $7,495 |
Other counties in Illinois
- Cook County $6,987
- DuPage County $9,049
- Lake County $6,801
- Will County $5,535
- Kane County $6,392
- Sangamon County $16,590
- Rock Island County $21,998
- St. Clair County $10,305
- Winnebago County $8,621
- McHenry County $5,980
- Madison County $6,712
- Champaign County $6,455
- Peoria County $6,541
- McLean County $5,628
- Tazewell County $6,574
- LaSalle County $6,670
- Macon County $7,051
- Kankakee County $6,389
- Williamson County $9,450
- Kendall County $4,152
- DeKalb County $5,411
- Vermilion County $7,009
- Adams County $7,439
- Whiteside County $6,997
- Ogle County $7,153
- Knox County $7,451
- Macoupin County $7,758
- Henry County $6,995
- Boone County $6,203
- Grundy County $6,100
- Jefferson County $8,683
- Stephenson County $7,251
- Jackson County $5,955
- Franklin County $8,354
- Coles County $6,246
- Massac County $21,174
- Marion County $7,239
- Monroe County $7,368
- Fulton County $7,613
- Clinton County $6,720
- Lee County $7,454
- Woodford County $6,384
- Bureau County $7,377
- Effingham County $6,835
- Livingston County $6,702
- Christian County $6,865
- Randolph County $7,434
- Morgan County $6,757
- Iroquois County $8,206
- Jo Daviess County $9,502
- Montgomery County $6,599
- Logan County $6,810
- Saline County $7,498
- McDonough County $6,191
- Jersey County $7,097
- Shelby County $6,783
- Perry County $6,839
- Hancock County $8,097
- Warren County $8,341
- Fayette County $5,940
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Illinois.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Clay County, Illinois?
$97M in award obligations in FY2026 and $403M 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?
$7,551 per resident in FY2026 (population 12,793), against $10,184 for Illinois 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 Clay County, Illinois?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Wabash Telephone Cooperative Inc ($29M), Illinois Department of Transportation ($12M) and County of Clay ($3.5M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Clay County, Illinois?
Social Security Administration ($262M), Department of Agriculture ($84M), Department of Transportation ($26M), Department of Veterans Affairs ($25M) and Department of Housing and Urban Development ($5.0M), 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.