States › Illinois › Cook County
County · Illinois · FIPS 17031
Federal spending in Cook 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.
In FY2026, $36B in federal awards named Cook County, Illinois, as the primary place of performance, $6,987 per resident.
That is below the Illinois rate of $10,184 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 59 of 102 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 79% direct payments, 11% contracts, 10% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $144B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($72B), Department of Health and Human Services ($26B) and Department of Defense ($12B).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $4.2B
- Grants $3.5B
- Direct payments $29B
- Loans (subsidy cost) −$98M
- Other assistance $21M
| Per resident | This county | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $6,987 | $10,184 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $800 | $903 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $680 | $3,196 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $5,521 | $6,073 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | −$19 | −$16 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $4 | $28 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 59 of 102 in state · 2,065 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 | Grain Belt Express LLC | 1 | $4.4B | 23% |
| 2 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | 93 | $3.4B | 18% |
| 3 | BP Products North America Inc. | 297 | $2.6B | 14% |
| 4 | Medline Industries, LP | 59 | $2.0B | 10% |
| 5 | Illinois Department of Transportation | 284 | $1.8B | 9% |
| 6 | DDB Chicago Inc. | 28 | $1.5B | 8% |
| 7 | City of Chicago | 21 | $900M | 5% |
| 8 | Chicago Housing Authority | 12 | $884M | 5% |
| 9 | US Foods Inc | 76 | $709M | 4% |
| 10 | Northwestern University | 254 | $667M | 3% |
A further $528M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain Belt Express LLC | Department of Energy | LoanDirect Loan (e) | $4.4Bloan face value | 25 Nov 2024 | USAspending |
| Century Aluminum Co | Department of Energy | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $500M | 13 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| City of Chicago | Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development | GrantProject Grant (B) | $427M | 16 Jul 2025 | USAspending |
| Cook County | Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development | GrantProject Grant (B) | $244M | 19 Dec 2025 | USAspending |
| Institute of Gas Technology | Department of Energy | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $210M | 15 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| DDB Chicago Inc. | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $199M | 29 Feb 2024 | USAspending |
| Chicago Housing Authority | Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $188M | 18 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
| Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Air Force | ContractDefinitive Contract | $176M | 28 Mar 2025 | USAspending |
| Chicago Housing Authority | Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $171M | 16 Nov 2023 | USAspending |
| Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $166M | 14 Nov 2024 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois's 2nd congressional district | 17% | $1.1B | $1,401 |
| Illinois's 6th congressional district | 15% | $259M | $343 |
| Illinois's 5th congressional district | 12% | $623M | $799 |
| Illinois's 8th congressional district | 11% | $3.0B | $4,032 |
| Illinois's 1st congressional district | 9% | $572M | $781 |
| Illinois's 4th congressional district | 9% | $315M | $437 |
| Illinois's 9th congressional district | 9% | $1.6B | $2,153 |
| Illinois's 7th congressional district | 7% | $4.7B | $6,553 |
| Illinois's 3rd congressional district | 6% | $173M | $239 |
| Illinois's 10th congressional district | 4% | $4.8B | $6,425 |
| Illinois's 11th congressional district | 1% | $2.4B | $3,212 |
Other counties in Illinois
- 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 Cook County, Illinois?
$36B in award obligations in FY2026 and $144B 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?
$6,987 per resident in FY2026 (population 5,194,625), 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 Cook County, Illinois?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Grain Belt Express LLC ($4.4B), Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation ($3.4B), BP Products North America Inc. ($2.6B), Medline Industries, LP ($2.0B) and Illinois Department of Transportation ($1.8B). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Cook County, Illinois?
Social Security Administration ($72B), Department of Health and Human Services ($26B), Department of Defense ($12B), Department of Housing and Urban Development ($8.4B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($8.1B), 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.