Minnesota's Hennepin County tops U.S. in federal spending

Hennepin County in Minnesota has received the most federal spending of any county both in Minnesota and the U.S. overall in the past year and a half. This is according to a new study from SmartAsset, which looked at which counties nationally received the largest injections of federal spending. For total federal dollars, Hennepin County saw more than $286 billion in federal spending committed to it during the 18-month period examined. That is the most of any county nationally and accounts for about 4.7% of the roughly $6 trillion tracked in the study. "Hennepin County was the nation's largest recipient of investment," Nelson explained. "One of the major procurement contracts tied to the county is for production of the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit in Plymouth for Army and Marine Corps artillery." Per capita, that comes out to $222,702 in spending per Hennepin County resident. That means the county ranked 11th nationally for the highest per capita federal spending. Per capita, the study found that Brewster County, Texas, received the most federal spending. The county averaged about $700,000 per resident during the period examined. "Much of that total can be tied to investments in border security and related infrastructure," it said. In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, the study's author, Toby Nelson, pointed out how centralized he found a lot of the federal spending to be. "Federal spending is highly concentrated in certain areas, often because of major facilities or contracts," Nelson said. "For instance, in Minnesota, projects tied to Hennepin County amount to more than $222,000 in federal spending per resident, nearly six times the amount recorded in Cook County, the state's second-highest county for per capita federal spending." Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis, is the most populous county in Minnesota, with more than 1.28 million residents. The study, titled "Who Gets the Money? Federal Spending by County in 2025-26," found that some areas of the country receive significantly more federal spending than others. "The result is a patchwork in which parts of the United States are deeply tied to federal spending while others are less exposed to shifting national priorities," the report said. For the study, SmartAsset analyzed 18 months' worth of U.S. government spending data, from Jan. 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, across 3,132 U.S. counties. That represents more than 99% of all counties in the nation. It counted "federal funds committed to activity," which included government contracts, procurement, grants, benefits and assistance payments. The totals do not represent money paid directly to county governments, but federal spending in the county. Nelson said that is an important distinction. "While these figures are presented on a per capita basis, that shouldn't be interpreted to represent payments to individuals, nor do the totals represent payments to county governments," he said. "They measure all federal spending in each county, including procurement contracts with private businesses, etc." For Hennepin County, Nelson told The Center Square that spending included about $1.8 billion in contracts, including procurement, with the U.S. Department of Defense being the largest awarding agency. The county also received about $1.4 billion in grants, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the largest awarding agency. The largest portion, however, came through direct assistance, which totaled about $282.8 billion. HHS was also the largest awarding agency for that spending. Nelson said the direct assistance figure was largely driven by Medicare spending, though he cautioned that the data does not necessarily mean that amount was spent directly on Hennepin County residents. Instead, the spending appears concentrated in Hennepin County because the federal data associates the place of performance for Medicare with an insurer's or contractor's headquarters, rather than where beneficiaries live or receive care. "Minnesota has a highly concentrated health provider market, with a large share of care delivered by a small number of major health systems," Nelson said. "Also, UnitedHealth, the nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurer, is headquartered in Eden Prairie. Nelson said it is also unlikely that federal immigration operations, though during the spending period considered, had much of an impact on Hennepin County topping the list. "Given the large amount of spending that's healthcare-related, it's unlikely that Metro Surge played a major role in Hennepin County topping the list," he said. The study also does not include federal payroll, which Nelson said presumably comprised a substantial share of spending associated with Operation Metro Surge. He noted that this does not mean the federal immigration operation did or did not have an economic impact in Hennepin County, only that it likely was not the reason the county ranked No. 1 in the study. The study comes as the 2026 federal deficit is projected to reach $2.1 trillion, which Nelson said makes it all the more important to determine how the federal government is spending its money. "Spending by Washington touches communities in different ways," he said. "Understanding the geographic distribution of federal investment provides useful context for which local economies may be more exposed to shifting national priorities, and which areas may be more resilient."