States › North Dakota › Ward County
County · North Dakota · FIPS 38101
Federal spending in Ward County, ND
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, $444M in federal awards named Ward County, North Dakota, as the primary place of performance, $6,511 per resident.
That is below the North Dakota rate of $119,018 per resident (5% of it) and below the national rate of $14,743; it ranks 47 of 53 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 75% direct payments, 16% contracts.
Obligations were down 22% on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $2.0B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($898M), Department of Defense ($426M) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($238M).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $73M
- Grants $36M
- Direct payments $333M
- Loans (subsidy cost) $76K
- Other assistance $2.3M
| Per resident | This county | North Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $6,511 | $119,018 | $14,743 |
| Contracts | $1,068 | $1,010 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $521 | $4,207 | $3,526 |
| Direct payments | $4,887 | $113,479 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $1 | −$4 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $34 | $326 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 47 of 53 in state · 1,817 of 3,143 US | 1 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 | Federal Contracting Inc | 1 | $137M | 36% |
| 2 | North Dakota Department of Transportation | 19 | $65M | 17% |
| 3 | Minot Air Force Base School District 160 | 4 | $36M | 9% |
| 4 | Central Power Electric Cooperative Inc | 1 | $34M | 9% |
| 5 | The Armored Group LLC | 1 | $29M | 8% |
| 6 | City of Minot | 8 | $24M | 6% |
| 7 | Trinity Packaging LLC | 8 | $14M | 4% |
| 8 | Minot Public School District 1 | 1 | $14M | 4% |
| 9 | Minot State University | 2 | $12M | 3% |
| 10 | Relyant Global LLC | 1 | $12M | 3% |
A further $4.3M 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota's at-large congressional district | 100% | $86B | $111,442 |
Other counties in North Dakota
- Cass County $393,683
- Burleigh County $7,857
- Grand Forks County $7,987
- Stutsman County $8,622
- Morton County $5,121
- Stark County $5,177
- Rolette County $14,661
- Williams County $3,524
- Richland County $6,895
- Ramsey County $8,703
- McLean County $10,180
- Pembina County $14,937
- McKenzie County $6,139
- Sioux County $25,140
- Benson County $15,844
- Barnes County $8,322
- Mercer County $10,171
- Walsh County $7,606
- Traill County $8,869
- Dunn County $16,260
- Mountrail County $6,644
- Bottineau County $9,651
- Ransom County $8,287
- Cavalier County $12,785
- McHenry County $7,906
- Sargent County $10,334
- Dickey County $7,748
- Pierce County $9,115
- LaMoure County $8,409
- Wells County $9,323
- Billings County $31,190
- Emmons County $9,566
- Nelson County $10,116
- Bowman County $10,625
- Towner County $14,040
- Divide County $11,841
- McIntosh County $10,046
- Griggs County $10,825
- Grant County $10,966
- Eddy County $9,719
- Renville County $9,560
- Hettinger County $8,543
- Foster County $6,371
- Kidder County $8,331
- Adams County $8,564
- Steele County $10,673
- Burke County $8,551
- Golden Valley County $8,926
- Oliver County $6,713
- Logan County $6,249
- Sheridan County $7,229
- Slope County $14,255
Per-resident rate, FY2026. All counties in North Dakota.
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Ward County, North Dakota?
$444M 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?
$6,511 per resident in FY2026 (population 68,233), against $119,018 for North Dakota 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 Ward County, North Dakota?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Federal Contracting Inc ($137M), North Dakota Department of Transportation ($65M), Minot Air Force Base School District 160 ($36M), Central Power Electric Cooperative Inc ($34M) and The Armored Group LLC ($29M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Ward County, North Dakota?
Social Security Administration ($898M), Department of Defense ($426M), Department of Veterans Affairs ($238M), Department of Agriculture ($210M) and Department of Transportation ($99M), 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.