Federal Spending Insights
See how federal grant dollars flow across rural, adjacent, and metro counties — based on USDA Rural–Urban Continuum Codes and USASpending.gov data. We use RUCCs to apply a consistent, county-level definition of “rural” that accounts for both population size and proximity to metro areas, enabling clearer and more accurate comparisons of how funding is distributed.
We estimate that in FY2024, non-metro counties received approximately $181.2 billion less in federal all spending than they would have at metro per-capita rates. This is based on 45,848,048 non-metro residents each receiving $3,953 less per capita.
Normalizing spending by population reveals whether rural counties receive proportionate federal grant funding relative to their size.
| RUCC | Description | Counties | Total Federal Spending | Per Capita |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Counties in metro areas of 1 million+ population | 432 | $2,187,897.1M | $11,950 |
| 2 | Counties in metro areas of 250,000 to 1 million population | 377 | $888,340.5M | $12,930 |
| 3 | Counties in metro areas of fewer than 250,000 population | 355 | $344,773.2M | $11,555 |
| Metro Subtotal | 1,164 | $3,421.01B | $12,147 | |
| 4 | Urban population of 20,000+, adjacent to a metro area | 215 | $109,112.0M | $8,072 |
| 5 | Urban population of 20,000+, not adjacent to a metro area | 92 | $39,816.4M | $7,843 |
| 6 | Urban population of 5,000 to 20,000, adjacent to a metro area | 593 | $116,406.3M | $8,002 |
| 7 | Urban population of 5,000 to 20,000, not adjacent to a metro area | 433 | $67,027.7M | $8,274 |
| 8 | Urban population of fewer than 5,000, adjacent to a metro area | 220 | $17,901.8M | $8,523 |
| 9 | Urban population of fewer than 5,000, not adjacent to a metro area | 424 | $25,428.0M | $10,150 |
| Non-Metro Subtotal | 1,977 | $375.69B | $8,194 | |
Note: $41,244.0M in spending was associated with geographic codes not matched to counties in our database.
The USDA Economic Research Service classifies every U.S. county on a 1–9 scale based on population size and adjacency to metropolitan areas. Counties with RUCC 1–3 are classified as metro; RUCC 4–9 are non-metro. Many federal rural programs use these codes to determine eligibility.
Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Spending data from USASpending.gov federal obligations, aggregated by county place of performance. Includes contracts, grants, direct payments, loans, and other financial assistance. This reflects federal obligations (binding commitments to spend), not final outlays. It does not include transfer payments to individuals (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP) which flow through state agencies, or net interest on the national debt. Population from Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates. Counties classified using USDA ERS Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (1 = most metro, 9 = most rural). Data refreshes every 48 hours.
County Typology Filters — The map can be filtered using the USDA ERS County Typology Codes (2025 Edition), which classify all U.S. counties based on their economic structure and demographic characteristics.
- Economic Typology (High Concentration) — Identifies counties with a high share of earnings or jobs in farming, mining, manufacturing, government, or recreation relative to other counties. These categories are not mutually exclusive — a county may appear in more than one.
- Demographic Typology — Identifies counties facing specific demographic challenges, including low post-secondary education, low employment, population loss, housing stress, retirement destination, and persistent poverty (poverty rate ≥ 20% across four consecutive measurement periods). These categories are not mutually exclusive.
Census Indicator Filters — The map can also be filtered by key county-level indicators from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.
- Poverty Rate — Percentage of the population living below the federal poverty level. Many federal grant programs use poverty rate thresholds (commonly 20%) as eligibility criteria.
- Broadband Access — Percentage of households with a broadband internet subscription. A key indicator for digital divide programs such as USDA ReConnect and NTIA BEAD.
- Unemployment Rate — Percentage of the civilian labor force that is unemployed. Higher unemployment often qualifies counties for EDA and USDA economic development assistance.
- Population — Total county population. Many rural grant programs have population caps (e.g., USDA programs often target communities under 50,000 or under 25,000).
All filters compose with AND logic across groups (a county must match all active filter groups) and OR logic within each group (matching any selected option satisfies that group). Sources: USDA Economic Research Service (updated December 2025), U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates.