Where federal tax dollars land around Des Moines
Federal contracts, grants and other awards with work performed in the county containing Des Moines, IA — the yearly total, the biggest agencies and the largest recipients.
USAspending.gov API, federal awards by place of performance.
This story was assembled using AI and public data sources.
$4.3B in federal awards was spent in Polk County.
Federal awards, FY 2025: $4.3B — $8,623 per county resident
Biggest awarding agencies
- Social Security Administration: 2238822792
- Department of Education: 422497515
- Department of Commerce: 418792412
- Department of Veterans Affairs: 292022308
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: 290832999
- Department of Transportation: 189821578
Largest recipients
- MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS: 2491057422
- IOWA DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT: 418773442
- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IOWA: 335435711
- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IOWA: 183064422
- IOWA HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT: 129020744
- IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: 125827241
What it means
Social Security Administration accounts for the largest share — $2.2B of the $4.3B total.
That works out to about $8,623 for every resident of the county, counting contracts, grants, loans and direct payments.
Place of performance means the work happened here — the money may be awarded to a company or agency headquartered elsewhere, and multi-year awards can land in a single year's total.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates — Population, income, housing, education, commuting and poverty figures
- Census Bureau API — ACS Detailed Tables — The endpoint these pages are generated from
- data.census.gov — Look up the same tables for any place yourself
- ACS accuracy statement — Estimates carry margins of error; small places vary the most
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