low → high per resident, FY2026 this countyTexas counties; boundaries US Census Bureau.
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.
Harris County, Texas, received $26B in federal award obligations in FY2026: $5,154 for each of its 5,045,026 residents.
That is below the Texas rate of $10,303 per resident (50% of it) and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 227 of 254 counties in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 71% direct payments, 19% contracts, 10% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $100B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($54B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($13B) and Department of Defense ($11B).
$26Bobligations performed in the county, FY2026FY2026 (1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026) · obligations
$100Bfive-year totalFY2023–FY2027 to date · obligations
$0FY2027 to dateFY2027, through 30 Sep 2026 · obligations
2,800awards of $1.0M+ begun here since FY2023FY2023–FY2027
Per resident, by award type FY2026
Contracts $4.9B
Grants $2.6B
Direct payments $19B
Loans (subsidy cost) −$22M
Other assistance $26M
Per resident
This county
Texas
United States
All award obligations
$5,154
$10,303
$14,744
Contracts
$966
$3,001
$2,007
Grants
$507
$2,395
$3,528
Direct payments
$3,681
$4,890
$9,185
Loans (subsidy cost)
−$4
−$10
−$16
Other assistance
$5
$27
$40
Rank by per-resident rate
227 of 254 in state · 3,011 of 3,144 US
45 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
$23B
$25B
$26B
$26B
$0
FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026FY2027*
Award obligations with a primary place of performance in Harris County, by fiscal year and award type. *FY2027 runs to the data date and is incomplete.
Professional, scientific and technical services$2.8B
Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services$2.0B
Transportation and warehousing$1.5B
Construction$785M
Utilities$124M
Retail trade$110M
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
How much federal spending goes to Harris County, Texas?
$26B in award obligations in FY2026 and $100B 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?
$5,154 per resident in FY2026 (population 5,045,026), against $10,303 for Texas 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 Harris County, Texas?
By the value of $1.0M-plus awards begun since FY2023: Veterans Evaluation Services, Inc ($4.1B), Phillips 66 Company ($1.9B), Petromax Refining Company LLC ($1.6B), Texas Department of Transportation ($842M) and Par Hawaii Refining LLC ($625M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Harris County, Texas?
Social Security Administration ($54B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($13B), Department of Defense ($11B), Department of Health and Human Services ($5.4B) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($4.7B), 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.