States › Montana › Chouteau County
County · Montana · FIPS 30015
Federal spending in Chouteau County, MT
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 $80M for work and payments in Chouteau County, Montana, in FY2026, or $13,671 per resident.
That is in line with the Montana rate of $12,459 per resident and in line with the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 16 of 56 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 73% direct payments, 15% contracts, 9% grants.
Obligations were down 26% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $315M.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Department of Agriculture ($123M), Department of the Interior ($103M) and Social Security Administration ($101M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $12M
- Grants $7.4M
- Direct payments $58M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $26K
- Other assistance $2.0M
| Per resident | This county | Montana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $13,671 | $12,459 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $2,110 | $1,175 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $1,265 | $4,154 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $9,956 | $6,871 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $4 | $59 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $336 | $200 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 16 of 56 in state · 249 of 3,144 US | 28 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 | New Frontier Aviation, LLC | 6 | $34M | 47% |
| 2 | Montana Department of Transportation | 5 | $19M | 26% |
| 3 | Rocky Boy Health Center | 1 | $2.0M | 3% |
| 4 | Fish Wildlife & Parks Montana Department | 1 | $1.1M | 2% |
| 5 | The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy Reservation | 1 | $1.1M | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Frontier Aviation, LLC | Department of the InteriorDepartmental Offices | ContractDelivery Order | $8.1M | 2 May 2024 | USAspending |
| New Frontier Aviation, LLC | Department of the InteriorDepartmental Offices | ContractDelivery Order | $7.5M | 5 Mar 2024 | USAspending |
| New Frontier Aviation, LLC | Department of the InteriorDepartmental Offices | ContractDelivery Order | $7.0M | 5 Aug 2026 | USAspending |
| Recipient not shown | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | $6.2M | 25 Aug 2025 | USAspending |
| Montana Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $6.0M | 30 Dec 2025 | USAspending |
| New Frontier Aviation, LLC | Department of the InteriorDepartmental Offices | ContractDelivery Order | $5.2M | 4 Jun 2024 | USAspending |
| New Frontier Aviation, LLC | Department of the InteriorDepartmental Offices | ContractDelivery Order | $5.1M | 10 Jun 2025 | USAspending |
| Recipient not shown | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | $4.9M | 14 Aug 2025 | USAspending |
| Recipient not shown | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | $4.3M | 13 May 2025 | USAspending |
| Montana Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $3.8M | 16 Feb 2024 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana's 2nd congressional district | 100% | $5.5B | $9,949 |
Other counties in Montana
- Yellowstone County $7,013
- Lewis and Clark County $11,941
- Flathead County $7,687
- Missoula County $7,105
- Cascade County $10,082
- Gallatin County $6,500
- Lake County $17,468
- Ravalli County $10,049
- Silver Bow County $7,322
- Lincoln County $11,592
- Sanders County $14,543
- Glacier County $14,971
- Big Horn County $15,263
- Hill County $11,761
- Valley County $22,088
- Park County $8,807
- Jefferson County $10,466
- Beaverhead County $13,001
- Mineral County $24,504
- Fergus County $10,642
- Roosevelt County $11,733
- Deer Lodge County $9,891
- Blaine County $13,880
- Rosebud County $11,460
- Dawson County $10,531
- Carbon County $7,874
- Madison County $8,664
- Custer County $7,172
- Richland County $7,455
- Stillwater County $8,445
- McCone County $45,848
- Powell County $9,545
- Teton County $10,173
- Phillips County $15,471
- Musselshell County $9,537
- Broadwater County $6,112
- Pondera County $8,290
- Sweet Grass County $11,769
- Sheridan County $12,332
- Toole County $8,012
- Liberty County $16,323
- Granite County $7,834
- Judith Basin County $12,244
- Prairie County $23,735
- Carter County $18,440
- Fallon County $7,312
- Wheatland County $9,135
- Daniels County $11,866
- Meagher County $8,288
- Powder River County $8,470
- Golden Valley County $17,494
- Garfield County $11,801
- Wibaux County $15,267
- Treasure County $12,396
- Petroleum County $13,799
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in Montana.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Chouteau County, Montana?
$80M in award obligations in FY2026 and $315M 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?
$13,671 per resident in FY2026 (population 5,865), against $12,459 for Montana 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 Chouteau County, Montana?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: New Frontier Aviation, LLC ($34M), Montana Department of Transportation ($19M), Rocky Boy Health Center ($2.0M), Fish Wildlife & Parks Montana Department ($1.1M) and The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy Reservation ($1.1M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Chouteau County, Montana?
Department of Agriculture ($123M), Department of the Interior ($103M), Social Security Administration ($101M), Department of Transportation ($24M) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($13M), 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.