Checked
Federal Spending in Merced County, CA
Federal agencies obligated $1.37B in Merced County in fiscal year 2026, 30th highest of 58 counties in California.
- Total, FY 2026
- $1.37B
- -16.9% from FY 2025
- Per person
- $4,888
- CA average: $8,660
- Contracts
- $159M
- Grants
- $38.04M
How the money is awarded
Fiscal year 2026, share of Merced County federal obligations
- Contracts$159M11.6%
- Grants$38.04M2.8%
- Direct payments$1.16B84.6%
- Loans (subsidy cost)$640K0.0%
- Insurance and other$13.54M1.0%
Top federal recipients in Merced County
Fiscal year 2026, all award types, by place of performance
- 1NW Construction, INC$125M
- 2University of California, Merced$53.95M
- 3Merced Community College District$36.2M
- 4Housing Authority of the County of Merced$32.07M
- 5Merced County Office of Education$19.46M
- 6Golden Valley Health Centers$14.65M
- 7Department of Transportation California$11.33M
- 8Foster Poultry Farms, LLC$8.16M
- 9Morning Star Packing Company, L.P., the$5.28M
- 10Advanced Air LLC$5.24M
Compared with other California counties
Fiscal year 2026, largest first
Swipe the table sideways to see more columns.
| # | County | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County | $72.05B | $7,195 |
| 2 | Alameda County | $42.4B | $25,202 |
| 3 | San Diego County | $35.83B | $10,862 |
| 4 | Orange County | $25.25B | $7,922 |
| 5 | Sacramento County | $14.62B | $9,222 |
| 6 | Riverside County | $14.21B | $5,877 |
| 7 | Santa Clara County | $13.19B | $6,812 |
| 8 | San Bernardino County | $11.56B | $5,298 |
| 9 | Contra Costa County | $7.1B | $6,088 |
| 10 | San Francisco County | $7.08B | $8,099 |
| 11 | Ventura County | $5.68B | $6,729 |
| 12 | San Mateo County | $5.06B | $6,619 |
| 13 | Fresno County | $4.92B | $4,883 |
| 14 | Kern County | $4.77B | $5,245 |
| 15 | San Joaquin County | $3.97B | $5,091 |
| 16 | Sonoma County | $3.32B | $6,788 |
| 17 | Solano County | $3.25B | $7,167 |
| 18 | Santa Barbara County | $3.22B | $7,173 |
| 19 | Placer County | $3.01B | $7,436 |
| 20 | Monterey County | $2.87B | $6,526 |
| 21 | Stanislaus County | $2.7B | $4,889 |
| 22 | Imperial County | $2.58B | $14,351 |
| 23 | San Luis Obispo County | $2.07B | $7,342 |
| 24 | Tulare County | $2.05B | $4,340 |
| 25 | Marin County | $1.97B | $7,499 |
| 26 | Santa Cruz County | $1.8B | $6,663 |
| 27 | Shasta County | $1.5B | $8,235 |
| 28 | Butte County | $1.49B | $7,060 |
| 29 | El Dorado County | $1.43B | $7,499 |
| 30 | Merced CountyThis county | $1.37B | $4,888 |
| 31 | Yolo County | $1.2B | $5,524 |
| 32 | Humboldt County | $1.1B | $8,086 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much federal money goes to Merced County?
- In fiscal year 2026, federal agencies obligated $1,374,535,633 for work done or benefits received in Merced County, about $4,888 per resident.
- Who receives the most federal money in Merced County?
- The largest recipients were NW CONSTRUCTION, INC ($125M), UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED ($53.95M), MERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT ($36.2M).
- What are direct payments?
- Direct payments are federal money paid straight to people or organizations, such as Social Security, farm payments and some disaster aid. In Merced County they totaled $1.16B in fiscal year 2026.
Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury · Last updated 09/30/2026 · Per-person figures use a population of 281,202.