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County · Maryland · FIPS 24510
Federal spending in Baltimore city, MD
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 $5.3B for work and payments in Baltimore city, Maryland, in FY2026, or $9,297 per resident.
That is below the Maryland rate of $15,202 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 11 of 24 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 49% grants, 45% contracts.
Obligations were down 51% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $31B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($13B), Department of Transportation ($4.3B) and Department of Education ($3.6B).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $2.4B
- Grants $2.6B
- Direct payments $326M
- Loans (subsidy cost) −$4.2M
- Other assistance $2.8M
| Per resident | This county | Maryland | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $9,297 | $15,202 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $4,214 | $5,705 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $4,514 | $3,710 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $572 | $5,781 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | −$7 | −$4 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $5 | $9 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 11 of 24 in state · 798 of 3,144 US | 15 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 | National Railroad Passenger Corporation | 2 | $3.9B | 35% |
| 2 | Maryland State Department of Education | 51 | $2.5B | 22% |
| 3 | The Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corporation | 1 | $1.5B | 13% |
| 4 | The Johns Hopkins University | 532 | $1.4B | 12% |
| 5 | Maryland Department of Transportation | 22 | $609M | 5% |
| 6 | Housing Authority of Baltimore City | 9 | $428M | 4% |
| 7 | University of Maryland, Baltimore | 133 | $318M | 3% |
| 8 | Four Points Technology, L.L.C. | 8 | $286M | 3% |
| 9 | State of Maryland Department of Education | 4 | $239M | 2% |
| 10 | Colossal Contracting LLC | 18 | $200M | 2% |
A further $54M went to recipients not shown: individuals, aggregated records and names USAspending withholds.
Largest awards performed in the county
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland's 7th congressional district | 93% | $5.9B | $7,919 |
| Maryland's 2nd congressional district | 7% | $3.2B | $4,162 |
Other counties in Maryland
- Montgomery County $15,754
- Prince George's County $9,528
- Anne Arundel County $14,874
- Howard County $25,193
- Baltimore County $9,992
- St. Mary's County $33,153
- Harford County $13,163
- Frederick County $9,028
- Charles County $7,411
- Washington County $7,433
- Carroll County $6,415
- Cecil County $6,412
- Calvert County $7,025
- Wicomico County $5,944
- Worcester County $9,701
- Allegany County $7,444
- Talbot County $11,807
- Queen Anne's County $7,970
- Dorchester County $11,428
- Garrett County $8,030
- Caroline County $6,454
- Somerset County $7,481
- Kent County $8,932
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Maryland.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Baltimore city, Maryland?
$5.3B in award obligations in FY2026 and $31B 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?
$9,297 per resident in FY2026 (population 569,997), against $15,202 for Maryland 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 Baltimore city, Maryland?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: National Railroad Passenger Corporation ($3.9B), Maryland State Department of Education ($2.5B), The Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corporation ($1.5B), The Johns Hopkins University ($1.4B) and Maryland Department of Transportation ($609M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Baltimore city, Maryland?
Social Security Administration ($13B), Department of Transportation ($4.3B), Department of Education ($3.6B), Department of Defense ($3.0B) and Department of Housing and Urban Development ($2.7B), 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.