States › Kentucky › Fayette County
County · Kentucky · FIPS 21067
Federal spending in Fayette County, KY
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.
Fayette County, Kentucky, received $2.5B in federal award obligations in FY2026: $7,728 for each of its 329,751 residents.
That is below the Kentucky rate of $40,449 per resident (19% of it) and below the national rate of $14,743; it ranks 16 of 120 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 55% direct payments, 34% contracts, 11% grants.
Obligations were down 18% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $11B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($4.8B), Department of Defense ($3.6B) and Department of Health and Human Services ($714M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $867M
- Grants $284M
- Direct payments $1.4B
- Loans (subsidy cost) $1.3M
- Other assistance $2.2M
| Per resident | This county | Kentucky | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,728 | $40,449 | $14,743 |
| Contracts | $2,628 | $1,916 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $862 | $5,283 | $3,526 |
| Direct payments | $4,228 | $33,188 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $4 | $6 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $7 | $56 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 16 of 120 in state · 999 of 3,143 US | 3 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 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | 246 | $2.5B | 72% |
| 2 | The University of Kentucky Research Foundation | 132 | $354M | 10% |
| 3 | Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Kentucky | 16 | $130M | 4% |
| 4 | Anduril Industries, Inc. | 7 | $100M | 3% |
| 5 | University of Kentucky | 29 | $100M | 3% |
| 6 | Arcticom, LLC | 19 | $95M | 3% |
| 7 | University of Kentucky | 35 | $64M | 2% |
| 8 | Community Action Council for Lexington-F | 5 | $53M | 2% |
| 9 | Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board | 15 | $50M | 1% |
| 10 | Link-Belt Cranes, L.p., LLLP | 21 | $49M | 1% |
A further $15M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $118M | 14 Feb 2024 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $90M | 21 Apr 2023 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $73M | 28 Feb 2023 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $70M | 21 Nov 2022 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $55M | 14 Sep 2023 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $55M | 11 Feb 2026 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $52M | 21 Apr 2025 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $51M | 7 Mar 2023 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $47M | 15 Feb 2023 | USAspending |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | Department of DefenseU.S. Special Operations Command | ContractDelivery Order | $47M | 6 Mar 2023 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky's 6th congressional district | 100% | $5.0B | $6,652 |
Other counties in Kentucky
- Jefferson County $170,631
- Franklin County $30,802
- Hardin County $9,214
- Kenton County $5,114
- Boone County $5,243
- Christian County $9,437
- Daviess County $6,002
- Warren County $4,193
- Madison County $6,060
- Grayson County $18,400
- Campbell County $5,121
- Bullitt County $5,147
- Pulaski County $6,526
- McCracken County $6,491
- Laurel County $6,322
- Pike County $7,262
- Boyd County $7,106
- Oldham County $4,733
- Shelby County $6,287
- Nelson County $6,372
- Jessamine County $5,460
- Hopkins County $6,623
- Henderson County $6,459
- Scott County $4,573
- Floyd County $8,259
- Whitley County $7,431
- Barren County $5,363
- Greenup County $6,728
- Marshall County $7,378
- Graves County $6,254
- Calloway County $5,782
- Boyle County $6,876
- Clark County $5,724
- Muhlenberg County $6,687
- Anderson County $8,111
- Knox County $6,487
- Harlan County $7,499
- Perry County $6,879
- Carter County $6,757
- Woodford County $6,121
- Montgomery County $5,915
- Letcher County $8,417
- Meade County $5,439
- Logan County $5,509
- Johnson County $7,136
- Bourbon County $7,479
- Bell County $6,631
- Taylor County $5,631
- Lincoln County $5,920
- Mercer County $5,859
- Grant County $5,251
- Breckinridge County $6,148
- Ohio County $5,514
- Wayne County $6,691
- Rowan County $5,086
- McCreary County $7,174
- Trigg County $8,385
- Allen County $5,326
- Russell County $6,437
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Kentucky.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Fayette County, Kentucky?
$2.5B in award obligations in FY2026 and $11B 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?
$7,728 per resident in FY2026 (population 329,751), against $40,449 for Kentucky 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 Fayette County, Kentucky?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Lockheed Martin Corporation ($2.5B), The University of Kentucky Research Foundation ($354M), Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Kentucky ($130M), Anduril Industries, Inc. ($100M) and University of Kentucky ($100M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Fayette County, Kentucky?
Social Security Administration ($4.8B), Department of Defense ($3.6B), Department of Health and Human Services ($714M), Department of Veterans Affairs ($683M) and Department of Transportation ($296M), 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.