Congressional district · 119th Congress boundaries
Federal spending in AR-01: Arkansas's 1st congressional district
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 $5.9B for work and payments in Arkansas's 1st congressional district in FY2026, or $7,850 per resident.
That is below the Arkansas rate of $10,445 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 2 of 4 districts in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 87% direct payments, 9% grants.
Obligations were about level on FY2025, and the five-year total since FY2023 is $23B.
Over FY2022–FY2025, the largest awarding agencies were Social Security Administration ($15B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($2.4B) and Department of Agriculture ($1.4B).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $114M
- Grants $521M
- Direct payments $5.2B
- Loans (subsidy cost) $3.0M
- Other assistance $104M
| Per resident | This district | Arkansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,850 | $10,445 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $151 | $356 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $692 | $3,559 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $6,866 | $6,460 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $4 | −$1 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $138 | $71 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 2 of 4 in state · 117 of 436 US | 43 of 51 states | — |
District attribution follows the congressional district USAspending records for the primary place of performance; awards carrying only a state-level location are counted in the state but in no district. Medicare payments are attributed to the district of the administrative contractor.
Obligations by fiscal year
Recipients that dominate the district FY2022–FY2025
| # | Recipient organisation | Obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas Department of Transportation | $904M | 4% |
| 2 | BFBC LLC | $182M | 1% |
| 3 | Arkansas State University | $113M | 1% |
| 4 | Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated | $104M | 0% |
| 5 | Arkansas Early Learning | $80M | 0% |
| 6 | Arcare | $67M | 0% |
| 7 | Voith Hydro Inc | $53M | 0% |
| 8 | Mississippi Co Arkansas Eoc Inc | $49M | 0% |
| 9 | Jonesboro Urban Renewal & Housing Author | $47M | 0% |
| 10 | White River Regional Housing Authority | $37M | 0% |
| 11 | Fairbanks Morse, LLC | $35M | 0% |
| 12 | North Arkansas College | $27M | 0% |
| 13 | Black River Area Development Corporation | $25M | 0% |
| 14 | Housing Authority of West Memphis | $23M | 0% |
| 15 | Arkansas State University-Newport | $23M | 0% |
| 16 | Mainline Health Systems Inc | $22M | 0% |
| 17 | C. J. Mahan Construction Company, LLC | $22M | 0% |
| 18 | East Arkansas Family Health Center, Inc. | $22M | 0% |
| 19 | City of Jonesboro | $22M | 0% |
| 20 | Boston Mountain Rural Health Center, Inc | $21M | 0% |
| 21 | Southern Airways Express LLC | $21M | 0% |
| 22 | 1ST Choice Healthcare, Inc. | $21M | 0% |
| 23 | Olgoonik Federal, LLC | $20M | 0% |
| 24 | Circle, LLC | $20M | 0% |
| 25 | Luhr Bros., Inc. | $19M | 0% |
A further $19B among the top 40 went to recipients not shown: individuals, aggregated records and names USAspending withholds.
Who funds the district FY2022–FY2025
Awarding agencies
Assistance programs
Contract industries by NAICS sector
Largest awards performed in the district
| Recipient | Awarding agency | Type | Award value | Begun | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | LoanDirect Loan (e) | $121Mloan face value | 27 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $109M | 17 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
| Arkansas Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $81M | 13 Dec 2022 | USAspending |
| Arkansas Early Learning | Department of Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and Families | GrantProject Grant (B) | $57M | 11 Dec 2023 | USAspending |
| Arkansas Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantFormula Grant (a) | $53M | 17 Jan 2023 | USAspending |
| Arkansas Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $44M | 7 Jul 2026 | USAspending |
| Fairbanks Morse, LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDefinitive Contract | $35M | 21 Aug 2023 | USAspending |
| Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | LoanDirect Loan (e) | $30Mloan face value | 28 Sep 2023 | USAspending |
| Mountain View Telephone Company | Department of AgricultureRural Utilities Service | LoanDirect Loan (e) | $25Mloan face value | 23 Sep 2024 | USAspending |
| Mississippi Co Arkansas Eoc Inc | Department of Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and Families | GrantProject Grant (B) | $25M | 26 Nov 2024 | USAspending |
Counties in the district
- Arkansas County 100% of county area
- Baxter County 100% of county area
- Boone County 100% of county area
- Chicot County 100% of county area
- Clay County 100% of county area
- Craighead County 100% of county area
- Crittenden County 100% of county area
- Cross County 100% of county area
- Desha County 100% of county area
- Fulton County 100% of county area
- Greene County 100% of county area
- Independence County 100% of county area
- Izard County 100% of county area
- Jackson County 100% of county area
- Lawrence County 100% of county area
- Lee County 100% of county area
- Lincoln County 100% of county area
- Lonoke County 100% of county area
- Marion County 100% of county area
- Mississippi County 100% of county area
- Monroe County 100% of county area
- Phillips County 100% of county area
- Poinsett County 100% of county area
- Prairie County 100% of county area
- Randolph County 100% of county area
- St. Francis County 100% of county area
- Searcy County 100% of county area
- Sharp County 100% of county area
- Stone County 100% of county area
- Woodruff County 100% of county area
- Pulaski County 16% of county area
Other districts in Arkansas
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Arkansas's 1st congressional district?
$5.9B in award obligations in FY2026 and $23B since FY2023, counting awards whose primary place of performance is in the district. Obligations are commitments, not payments.
How much federal spending per person is that?
$7,850 per resident in FY2026 (population 753,369), against $10,445 for Arkansas 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 Arkansas's 1st congressional district?
By obligations over FY2022–FY2025: Arkansas Department of Transportation ($904M), BFBC LLC ($182M), Arkansas State University ($113M), Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated ($104M) and Arkansas Early Learning ($80M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Arkansas's 1st congressional district?
Social Security Administration ($15B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($2.4B), Department of Agriculture ($1.4B), Department of Transportation ($1.0B) and Department of Defense ($567M), 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, congressional district layer, current districts) by fiscal year and award type, loaded 30 Sep 2026; district population as returned by the same endpoint; recipient and agency cross-tabulations for FY2022–FY2025, fetched 18 Sep 2026. Boundaries and county overlap: Census cartographic boundary and relationship files for the 119th Congress. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections.