States › Maryland › Worcester County
County · Maryland · FIPS 24047
Federal spending in Worcester County, 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.
In FY2026, $528M in federal awards named Worcester County, Maryland, as the primary place of performance, $9,701 per resident.
That is below the Maryland rate of $15,202 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 9 of 24 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 85% direct payments, 11% contracts.
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 ($1.5B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($108M) and Department of Defense ($91M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $57M
- Grants $23M
- Direct payments $447M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $93K
- Other assistance $1.5M
| Per resident | This county | Maryland | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $9,701 | $15,202 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $1,044 | $5,705 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $421 | $3,710 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $8,207 | $5,781 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $2 | −$4 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $27 | $9 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 9 of 24 in state · 675 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 | Hardwire LLC | 12 | $112M | 59% |
| 2 | Maryland Department of Transportation | 11 | $37M | 19% |
| 3 | Mayor and City Council of Ocean City | 2 | $18M | 9% |
| 4 | Etrac, a Woolpert Company | 1 | $5.4M | 3% |
| 5 | Bluegrass Contracting Corp | 1 | $4.2M | 2% |
| 6 | Maryland Coastal Bays Foundation, Inc. | 2 | $3.5M | 2% |
| 7 | Worcester County | 2 | $2.9M | 2% |
| 8 | State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources | 2 | $2.5M | 1% |
| 9 | Blue World Construction Inc | 1 | $2.3M | 1% |
| 10 | Osprey Distributed Control Systems LLC | 1 | $1.6M | 1% |
A further $1.5M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwire LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $39M | 11 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Hardwire LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $38M | 21 Jan 2026 | USAspending |
| Mayor and City Council of Ocean City | Department of TransportationFederal Aviation Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $9.5M | 3 Sep 2026 | USAspending |
| Mayor and City Council of Ocean City | Department of TransportationFederal Aviation Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $8.0M | 18 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Maryland Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $7.6M | 5 Feb 2026 | USAspending |
| Hardwire LLC | Department of DefenseDefense Logistics Agency | ContractDelivery Order | $6.2M | 30 Jan 2023 | USAspending |
| Hardwire LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $5.8M | 17 May 2024 | USAspending |
| Hardwire LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $5.8M | 17 May 2024 | USAspending |
| Etrac, a Woolpert Company | Department of CommerceNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | ContractDelivery Order | $5.4M | 1 Aug 2025 | USAspending |
| Maryland Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $5.4M | 28 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland's 1st congressional district | 100% | $7.2B | $9,228 |
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
- Baltimore city $9,297
- 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
- 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 Worcester County, Maryland?
$528M 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?
$9,701 per resident in FY2026 (population 54,459), 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 Worcester County, Maryland?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Hardwire LLC ($112M), Maryland Department of Transportation ($37M), Mayor and City Council of Ocean City ($18M), Etrac, a Woolpert Company ($5.4M) and Bluegrass Contracting Corp ($4.2M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Worcester County, Maryland?
Social Security Administration ($1.5B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($108M), Department of Defense ($91M), Department of Transportation ($46M) and Department of Agriculture ($26M), 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.