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County · Kansas · FIPS 20161
Federal spending in Riley County, KS
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.
Federal agencies obligated $523M for work and payments in Riley County, Kansas, in FY2026, or $7,205 per resident.
That is below the Kansas rate of $10,325 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 79 of 105 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 67% direct payments, 17% contracts, 15% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $2.0B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($785M), Department of Agriculture ($323M) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($319M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $90M
- Grants $81M
- Direct payments $349M
- Loans (subsidy cost) −$704K
- Other assistance $4.0M
| Per resident | This county | Kansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,205 | $10,325 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $1,244 | $1,256 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $1,115 | $2,786 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $4,800 | $6,231 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | −$10 | −$1 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $56 | $52 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 79 of 105 in state · 1,893 of 3,144 US | 44 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 | Kansas State University | 50 | $204M | 60% |
| 2 | Firelake Construction Inc | 12 | $32M | 9% |
| 3 | Merrick & Company | 3 | $31M | 9% |
| 4 | Kansas Department of Transportation | 9 | $21M | 6% |
| 5 | Mill Creek Firelake JV LLC | 5 | $14M | 4% |
| 6 | McKenzie Construction & Site Development LLC | 5 | $13M | 4% |
| 7 | Clark Nexsen Inc | 1 | $10M | 3% |
| 8 | Michels Construction, Inc. | 1 | $6.1M | 2% |
| 9 | Cas Fse JV II LLC | 1 | $5.7M | 2% |
| 10 | Ultra Electronics Ice Inc | 1 | $5.4M | 2% |
Largest awards performed in the county
| Recipient | Awarding agency | Type | Award value | Begun | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State University | Department of CommerceNational Institute of Standards and Technology | GrantProject Grant (B) | $28M | 28 Aug 2024 | USAspending |
| Merrick & Company | Department of AgricultureAgricultural Research Service | ContractDefinitive Contract | $27M | 29 Aug 2025 | USAspending |
| Kansas State University | Environmental Protection Agency | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $23M | 2 Nov 2023 | USAspending |
| Clark Nexsen Inc | Department of AgricultureAgricultural Research Service | ContractDelivery Order | $10M | 8 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Kansas State University | Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantProject Grant (B) | $10M | 20 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
| Kansas State University | Department of AgricultureNational Institute of Food and Agriculture | GrantProject Grant (B) | $10M | 4 Sep 2026 | USAspending |
| Kansas State University | Agency for International Development | GrantProject Grant (B) | $8.8M | 22 Sep 2023 | USAspending |
| Kansas State University | Department of CommerceNational Institute of Standards and Technology | GrantProject Grant (B) | $7.9M | 24 Aug 2026 | USAspending |
| Firelake Construction Inc | Department of AgricultureAgricultural Research Service | ContractDelivery Order | $7.0M | 26 Jun 2025 | USAspending |
| Firelake Construction Inc | Department of AgricultureAgricultural Research Service | ContractDelivery Order | $6.6M | 11 Jun 2025 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas's 1st congressional district | 100% | $5.6B | $7,578 |
Other counties in Kansas
- Johnson County $6,429
- Sedgwick County $6,363
- Wyandotte County $17,932
- Shawnee County $12,356
- Leavenworth County $11,197
- Douglas County $6,332
- Butler County $6,783
- Reno County $6,841
- Geary County $10,994
- Saline County $6,394
- Cowley County $7,743
- Harvey County $7,462
- Crawford County $6,121
- Montgomery County $7,549
- Miami County $6,021
- Ellis County $7,480
- McPherson County $6,900
- Lyon County $5,898
- Barton County $7,502
- Sumner County $8,314
- Franklin County $6,880
- Finney County $4,762
- Pottawatomie County $6,216
- Dickinson County $8,575
- Cherokee County $7,887
- Jefferson County $8,034
- Jackson County $10,595
- Ford County $4,110
- Labette County $6,886
- Osage County $7,683
- Atchison County $6,392
- Neosho County $6,474
- Marion County $8,667
- Allen County $8,141
- Bourbon County $6,978
- Seward County $4,135
- Marshall County $8,663
- Brown County $8,481
- Pratt County $8,416
- Rice County $8,221
- Linn County $7,516
- Coffey County $8,648
- Clay County $8,903
- Thomas County $9,015
- Nemaha County $6,726
- Cloud County $7,656
- Wilson County $8,130
- Kingman County $9,550
- Ottawa County $10,296
- Doniphan County $7,773
- Mitchell County $10,448
- Wabaunsee County $8,245
- Osborne County $17,555
- Anderson County $6,736
- Republic County $11,400
- Stafford County $13,142
- Russell County $7,785
- Pawnee County $8,486
- Smith County $14,012
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Kansas.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Riley County, Kansas?
$523M in award obligations in FY2026 and $2.0B 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?
$7,205 per resident in FY2026 (population 72,598), against $10,325 for Kansas 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 Riley County, Kansas?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Kansas State University ($204M), Firelake Construction Inc ($32M), Merrick & Company ($31M), Kansas Department of Transportation ($21M) and Mill Creek Firelake JV LLC ($14M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Riley County, Kansas?
Social Security Administration ($785M), Department of Agriculture ($323M), Department of Veterans Affairs ($319M), Department of Education ($107M) and National Science Foundation ($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.