City profileNebraskaFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Lincoln get?
Lincoln received $1.4 billion in federal awards in FY2025: $4,499 per resident, 59th of 99 large cities by total.In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $1.4 billion in awards whose place of performance is Lincoln, NE, about $4,499 per resident.
Lincoln is 46th of 99 large cities per resident
Federal awards per resident, FY2025, the 99 largest US cities on this site. Dashed line: median city.
What the money is
That is up 65.7% from FY2024 ($818.7 million). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 54.1%. The largest share came as grants ($984.8 million). The Department of Education obligated the most ($505.7 million), and the largest program was Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program ($400.3 million). By this measure Lincoln ranks 59th of the 99 large US cities on this site.
What is counted: contracts, grants, loans and payments that agencies report with this city as the place of performance (USAspending.gov city name LINCOLN, state NE). Payments to individuals, such as Social Security, are published only as county totals to protect privacy, so most of them do not show up at city level. For the full picture see the Nebraska page, which includes those payments.
Federal money to Lincoln by year
Lincoln: $1.4B in FY2025, up 54% on FY2019
Federal award obligations by fiscal year and type, FY2018–FY2026, nominal dollars. FY26* is preliminary and still filling in.
- Insurance and other
- Loans (subsidy cost)
- Direct payments
- Grants
- Contracts
View every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Contracts | Grants | Direct payments | Loans | Insurance and other | Total | Per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | $185.7M | $532.8M | $70.5M | -$63,066 | $5.4M | $794.3M | – |
| FY2019 | $236.8M | $530.0M | $105.8M | -$388,915 | $7.9M | $880.1M | – |
| FY2020 | $215.8M | $811.3M | $163.2M | $697,930 | $6.9M | $1.2B | $4,105 |
| FY2021 | $181.4M | $1.9B | $130.0M | -$82,801 | $7.9M | $2.2B | $7,497 |
| FY2022 | $303.5M | $954.8M | $95.4M | -$81,407 | $15.5M | $1.4B | $4,669 |
| FY2023 | $379.4M | $568.7M | $73.8M | -$454,859 | $13.7M | $1.0B | $3,494 |
| FY2024 | $229.3M | $498.2M | $79.4M | -$145,473 | $12.0M | $818.7M | $2,736 |
| FY2025 | $253.2M | $984.8M | $107.6M | $52,073 | $11.1M | $1.4B | $4,499 |
| FY2026* | $333.4M | $521.7M | $100.1M | -$256,463 | $6.4M | $961.4M | – |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Cities with similar totals
Lincoln and the cities ranked either side of it
FY2025 federal awards performed in each city, total dollars.
| Cleveland, OH | $1.4 billion |
| Boise, ID | $1.4 billion |
| Lincoln, NE (this page) | $1.4 billion |
| San Jose, CA | $1.3 billion |
| Wichita, KS | $1.3 billion |
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Lincoln, and the largest federal programs. Programs are federal Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA numbers); contracts have no listing number, so they do not appear there.
Top awarding agencies
| Agency | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | $505.7 million | 37.3% |
| Department of Commerce | $408.8 million | 30.1% |
| Department of Homeland Security | $109.7 million | 8.1% |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $67.1 million | 4.9% |
| Department of Transportation | $55.2 million | 4.1% |
| National Science Foundation | $49.4 million | 3.6% |
| Department of Agriculture | $46.7 million | 3.4% |
| Department of Defense | $41.2 million | 3.0% |
| Department of Justice | $20.6 million | 1.5% |
| Department of Energy | $18.3 million | 1.4% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program Assistance Listing 11.035 | $400.3 million | 29.5% |
| Special Education Grants to States Assistance Listing 84.027 | $86.3 million | 6.4% |
| Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Assistance Listing 84.010 | $86.3 million | 6.4% |
| Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters) Assistance Listing 97.036 | $69.4 million | 5.1% |
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $54.8 million | 4.0% |
| Airport Improvement Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs, and COVID-19 Airports Programs Assistance Listing 20.106 | $43.4 million | 3.2% |
| Rehabilitation Services Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States Assistance Listing 84.126 | $25.9 million | 1.9% |
| Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers Assistance Listing 14.871 | $22.4 million | 1.7% |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences Assistance Listing 47.049 | $18.3 million | 1.4% |
| Agricultural Research Basic and Applied Research Assistance Listing 10.001 | $11.8 million | 0.9% |
Nearby on this site
Universities in Lincoln
Questions and answers
- How much federal money does Lincoln get?
- $1.4 billion in FY2025 in awards performed in Lincoln, NE, according to USAspending.gov. That excludes most payments to individuals, which are published only by county.
- How much is that per resident?
- About $4,499 per resident, using the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate of 301,522 people.
- Which agency spends the most in Lincoln?
- The Department of Education, with $505.7 million in FY2025.
Sources and notes
- USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), API endpoints spending_over_time and spending_by_category, filtered by place of performance city (LINCOLN) in NE, fiscal years 2018–2026. Amounts are obligations in nominal dollars. Data retrieved 2026-10-04. Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city estimates (Lincoln city).
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.