Where federal tax dollars land around Chicago
Federal contracts, grants and other awards with work performed in the county containing Chicago, IL — 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.
$38.6B in federal awards was spent in Cook County.
Federal awards, FY 2025: $38.6B — $7,439 per county resident
Biggest awarding agencies
- Social Security Administration: 20179977785
- Department of Health and Human Services: 8041181484
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: 2332054777
- Department of Veterans Affairs: 2181954676
- Department of Defense: 2171914432
- Department of Energy: 1024192604
Largest recipients
- MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS: 28060600081
- CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY: 1331940745
- NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION: 1047304278
- ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: 592120188
- MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP: 516027219
- CENTURY ALUMINUM CO: 500000000
What it means
Social Security Administration accounts for the largest share — $20.2B of the $38.6B total.
That works out to about $7,439 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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