States › North Carolina › Buncombe County
County · North Carolina · FIPS 37021
Federal spending in Buncombe County, NC
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 $2.4B for work and payments in Buncombe County, North Carolina, in FY2026, or $8,669 per resident.
That is below the North Carolina rate of $11,050 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 36 of 100 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 75% direct payments, 17% grants, 8% contracts.
Obligations were down 33% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $10B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($5.8B), Department of Defense ($1.1B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($967M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $202M
- Grants $400M
- Direct payments $1.8B
- Loans (subsidy cost) $1.5M
- Other assistance $7.7M
| Per resident | This county | North Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $8,669 | $11,050 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $729 | $459 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $1,442 | $4,010 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $6,465 | $6,546 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $5 | $1 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $28 | $35 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 36 of 100 in state · 1,013 of 3,144 US | 40 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 | Ashbritt Inc | 6 | $814M | 49% |
| 2 | Asheville, City of | 9 | $239M | 14% |
| 3 | Transportation North Carolina Department | 33 | $224M | 13% |
| 4 | Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority | 15 | $90M | 5% |
| 5 | Mills Manufacturing Corporation | 16 | $69M | 4% |
| 6 | Kearfott Corp | 17 | $51M | 3% |
| 7 | Ahtna USA-CDM JV | 1 | $49M | 3% |
| 8 | Consolidated Safety Services Incorporated | 2 | $44M | 3% |
| 9 | Buncombe, County of | 1 | $37M | 2% |
| 10 | Earth Resources Technology, LLC | 1 | $35M | 2% |
A further $25M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbritt Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $321M | 31 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| Asheville, City of | Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentAssistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $225M | 7 Mar 2025 | USAspending |
| Ashbritt Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $202M | 24 Apr 2025 | USAspending |
| Ashbritt Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $151M | 31 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| Ashbritt Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $134M | 5 Nov 2024 | USAspending |
| Ahtna USA-CDM JV | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $49M | 9 Nov 2024 | USAspending |
| Buncombe, County of | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $37M | 8 Jul 2026 | USAspending |
| Earth Resources Technology, LLC | Department of CommerceNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | ContractDelivery Order | $35M | 16 Feb 2023 | USAspending |
| David Boland Inc | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $33M | 20 Jun 2024 | USAspending |
| Bering-Weston JV, LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $31M | 11 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
Congressional districts
| District | Share of county land area | District FY2026 obligations | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina's 11th congressional district | 100% | $8.8B | $11,723 |
Other counties in North Carolina
- Wake County $7,834
- Durham County $17,923
- Mecklenburg County $4,405
- Cumberland County $11,962
- Guilford County $6,551
- Forsyth County $6,962
- Onslow County $10,578
- Brunswick County $11,542
- New Hanover County $7,850
- Haywood County $27,889
- Orange County $10,236
- Gaston County $6,119
- Johnston County $5,736
- Iredell County $6,618
- Henderson County $10,970
- Union County $4,705
- Cabarrus County $4,767
- Catawba County $6,980
- Craven County $11,204
- Pitt County $6,166
- Davidson County $6,163
- Rowan County $7,061
- Moore County $9,651
- Alamance County $5,636
- Robeson County $8,203
- Randolph County $6,159
- Harnett County $6,090
- Wayne County $7,398
- Yancey County $41,290
- Rockingham County $8,088
- Nash County $7,264
- Cleveland County $6,879
- Rutherford County $9,957
- Carteret County $9,270
- Chatham County $7,543
- Lincoln County $6,121
- Burke County $6,691
- Wilson County $7,239
- Pasquotank County $13,601
- Caldwell County $6,927
- Lee County $7,789
- Dare County $13,892
- Pender County $6,976
- Wilkes County $7,411
- Surry County $6,538
- Hoke County $8,238
- Franklin County $5,638
- Lenoir County $7,956
- Beaufort County $9,762
- Stanly County $6,289
- Columbus County $8,135
- McDowell County $8,941
- Sampson County $6,409
- Halifax County $8,448
- Granville County $6,244
- Richmond County $8,711
- Edgecombe County $7,419
- Duplin County $6,929
- Stokes County $7,458
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in North Carolina.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Buncombe County, North Carolina?
$2.4B in award obligations in FY2026 and $10B 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?
$8,669 per resident in FY2026 (population 277,417), against $11,050 for North Carolina 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 Buncombe County, North Carolina?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Ashbritt Inc ($814M), Asheville, City of ($239M), Transportation North Carolina Department ($224M), Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority ($90M) and Mills Manufacturing Corporation ($69M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Buncombe County, North Carolina?
Social Security Administration ($5.8B), Department of Defense ($1.1B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($967M), Department of Housing and Urban Development ($430M) and Department of Transportation ($406M), 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.