Congressional district · 119th Congress boundaries
Federal spending in CO-03: Colorado's 3rd 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.
In FY2026, $5.7B in federal awards named Colorado's 3rd congressional district as the primary place of performance, $7,746 per resident.
That is below the Colorado rate of $11,062 per resident and below the national rate of $14,744; it ranks 3 of 8 districts in the state.
The FY2026 mix was 82% direct payments, 10% 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 ($14B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($2.3B) and Department of Defense ($1.6B).
Per resident, by award type FY2026
- Contracts $401M
- Grants $563M
- Direct payments $4.7B
- Loans (subsidy cost) $3.8M
- Other assistance $54M
| Per resident | This district | Colorado | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All award obligations | $7,746 | $11,062 | $14,744 |
| Contracts | $547 | $2,252 | $2,007 |
| Grants | $767 | $3,063 | $3,528 |
| Direct payments | $6,354 | $5,689 | $9,185 |
| Loans (subsidy cost) | $5 | $22 | −$16 |
| Other assistance | $73 | $35 | $40 |
| Rank by per-resident rate | 3 of 8 in state · 121 of 436 US | 39 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 | Colorado Department of Transportation | $818M | 4% |
| 2 | Bechtel National, Inc. | $692M | 3% |
| 3 | Bechtel National, Inc. | $624M | 3% |
| 4 | Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority | $123M | 1% |
| 5 | Holy Cross Electric Association, Inc | $100M | 0% |
| 6 | Land Title Guarantee Company | $87M | 0% |
| 7 | Ute Mountain Ute Tribe | $80M | 0% |
| 8 | Housing Authority of the City of Pueblo | $75M | 0% |
| 9 | Southern Ute Indian Tribe | $69M | 0% |
| 10 | Colorado State University-Pueblo | $67M | 0% |
| 11 | Colorado Mesa University | $62M | 0% |
| 12 | Department of Human Services Colorado | $58M | 0% |
| 13 | Wca Construction, LLC | $56M | 0% |
| 14 | Cci Capco, LLC | $54M | 0% |
| 15 | State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education | $53M | 0% |
| 16 | Tribal Energy Consortium | $50M | 0% |
| 17 | Grand Junction Housing AUTH | $47M | 0% |
| 18 | Fort Lewis College | $47M | 0% |
| 19 | City of Durango | $43M | 0% |
| 20 | Delta-Montrose Electric Association | $43M | 0% |
| 21 | Key Lime Air Corporation | $42M | 0% |
| 22 | Oneida Environmental, LLC | $42M | 0% |
| 23 | Hydrogeologic, Inc. | $37M | 0% |
| 24 | Adams State University | $35M | 0% |
| 25 | Ensco Inc | $34M | 0% |
A further $17B 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Cross Electric Association, Inc | Department of Energy | GrantProject Grant (B) | $97M | 21 Aug 2024 | USAspending |
| Colorado Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $59M | 23 Dec 2024 | USAspending |
| Tribal Energy Consortium | Department of Energy | GrantCooperative Agreement (B) | $50M | 15 Jan 2025 | USAspending |
| Colorado Department of Transportation | Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $50M | 5 Jun 2026 | USAspending |
| Oneida Environmental, LLC | Department of DefenseDepartment of the Army | ContractDelivery Order | $49M | 16 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Southern Ute Indian Tribe | Department of CommerceNational Telecommunications and Information Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $44M | 23 Nov 2022 | USAspending |
| Land Title Guarantee Company | Department of AgricultureNatural Resources Conservation Service | Other assistanceOther Reimbursable, Contingent, Intangible, or Indirect Financial Assistance | $41M | 24 Jul 2023 | USAspending |
| Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority | Department of TransportationFederal Aviation Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $38M | 26 Sep 2025 | USAspending |
| Pitkin County | Department of TransportationFederal Aviation Administration | GrantProject Grant (B) | $37M | 21 Sep 2026 | USAspending |
| Pate Construction Co., Inc. | Department of the InteriorBureau of Reclamation | ContractDefinitive Contract | $37M | 17 Sep 2026 | USAspending |
Counties in the district
- Alamosa County 100% of county area
- Archuleta County 100% of county area
- Conejos County 100% of county area
- Costilla County 100% of county area
- Delta County 100% of county area
- Dolores County 100% of county area
- Garfield County 100% of county area
- Gunnison County 100% of county area
- Hinsdale County 100% of county area
- Huerfano County 100% of county area
- La Plata County 100% of county area
- Las Animas County 100% of county area
- Mesa County 100% of county area
- Mineral County 100% of county area
- Moffat County 100% of county area
- Montezuma County 100% of county area
- Montrose County 100% of county area
- Otero County 100% of county area
- Ouray County 100% of county area
- Pitkin County 100% of county area
- Pueblo County 100% of county area
- Rio Blanco County 100% of county area
- Rio Grande County 100% of county area
- Saguache County 100% of county area
- San Juan County 100% of county area
- San Miguel County 100% of county area
- Eagle County 26% of county area
Other districts in Colorado
Questions and answers
How much federal spending goes to Colorado's 3rd congressional district?
$5.7B 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?
$7,746 per resident in FY2026 (population 734,246), against $11,062 for Colorado 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 Colorado's 3rd congressional district?
By obligations over FY2022–FY2025: Colorado Department of Transportation ($818M), Bechtel National, Inc. ($692M), Bechtel National, Inc. ($624M), Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority ($123M) and Holy Cross Electric Association, Inc ($100M). Individuals are never listed.
Which agencies fund Colorado's 3rd congressional district?
Social Security Administration ($14B), Department of Veterans Affairs ($2.3B), Department of Defense ($1.6B), Department of Transportation ($1.3B) and Department of Agriculture ($856M), 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.