Updated June 2026 · FY2024 USAspending.gov data
North Carolina Federal Spending
NC · Rank #20 of 51
North Carolina is a major federal-spending state. 49 contractors based in North Carolina together pulled $10.0B in federal obligations — about 1.64% of national contract spending — across the most recent fiscal year reported by USAspending.gov.
Why North Carolina Ranks Where It Does
Large federal-spending states like North Carolina usually combine one or two flagship agency relationships with a deeper bench of professional-services and IT contractors. Department of Defense sits at the top of North Carolina's agency ledger; the supporting cast (legal services, engineering, R&D, healthcare administration) tends to spread across many smaller awards rather than a few large ones.
For broader context, see the federal spending by state breakdown, which ranks every state and DC against this same dataset, or look at spending by industry to see which categories dominate nationally.
Top Contractors in North Carolina
| Rank | Contractor | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | $224.6M |
| #2 | The Boeing Company | $116.9M |
| #3 | Optum Public Sector Solutions, Inc. | $99.1M |
| #4 | Raytheon Company | $86.1M |
| #5 | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | $83.7M |
| #6 | Mckesson Corporation | $44.3M |
| #7 | Electric Boat Corporation | $42.2M |
| #8 | Triwest Healthcare Alliance Corp. | $41.2M |
| #9 | Humana Government Business Inc. | $39.5M |
| #10 | Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. | $38.8M |
North Carolina's federal-contracting base is broad. Lockheed Martin Corporation is the largest single recipient at $224.6M (about 2.2% of state total), but no contractor dominates — the state's spending is spread across many recipients, which makes the total more resilient to any one contract decision.
What the Federal Government Buys in North Carolina
The largest spending category in North Carolina is Defense & Weapons at $3.5B. That category mix tells you what the federal government is buying from North Carolina contractors — services, manufactured goods, research, or construction. The Federal Procurement Data System uses the Product and Service Code (PSC) hierarchy to tag every award; the breakdown shown on this page rolls those PSCs into the major categories.
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every total on this page is computed from the USAspending.gov award dataset, filtered to recipients with a primary place of performance in North Carolina. Recipient identity is reconciled to the SAM.gov Unique Entity ID, which ties subsidiaries that file separately to a single parent record where the federal data supports it. Industry rollups follow the Product and Service Code hierarchy maintained by the Federal Procurement Data System. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About North Carolina Federal Spending
How much federal contract spending does North Carolina receive?
North Carolina received $10,047,288,066 in federal contract obligations in the most recent fiscal year (FY2024), based on USAspending.gov data. That ranks North Carolina #20 of 51 states (and DC) for federal contract spending.
Who is the biggest federal contractor in North Carolina?
Lockheed Martin Corporation is the largest federal contractor based in North Carolina, with $224.6M in obligations. The full top-contractor list is shown above; click any name to open that contractor's profile, including all agencies, categories, and individual awards.
Which federal agencies spend the most in North Carolina?
Department of Defense is the dominant federal customer in North Carolina at $5.5B, followed by Department of Health and Human Services. The agency panel shows the full mix; large states usually show several agencies, while smaller-spending states tend to be dominated by one.
What does the federal government buy in North Carolina?
The biggest spending category in North Carolina is Defense & Weapons at $3.5B. Categories follow the PSC hierarchy from the Federal Procurement Data System and span services, products, research, and construction.
Where does this data come from?
Every figure is sourced from USAspending.gov, the official federal spending database mandated by the DATA Act. Recipient identity is reconciled to SAM.gov Unique Entity ID registrations. Data is public domain and refreshes whenever USAspending.gov publishes a new release.
Source: U.S. federal government, USAspending.gov & SAM.gov. Data is public domain. Cite as: "TaxDollarData, North Carolina federal spending, FY2024. Data: USAspending.gov."
Last updated 2026-06-07 · figures represent federal obligations for FY2024.
Compare Federal Spending in Nearby States
$8.0B in obligations · 39 contractors
$10.7B in obligations · 52 contractors
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$12.1B in obligations · 59 contractors
$8.0B in obligations · 39 contractors
$12.1B in obligations · 59 contractors
The North Carolina record above pulls directly from USASpending.gov federal awards data. What follows is the per-entity context — how North Carolina sits in the broader U.S. federal government spending distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the USASpending.gov federal awards data portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for North Carolina is typically a peer within U.S. federal contracts, grants, and awards with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.