City profilePennsylvaniaFiscal year 2025
How much federal money does Philadelphia get?
Philadelphia received $3.8 billion in federal awards in FY2025: $2,433 per resident, 30th of 99 large cities by total.In fiscal year 2025, federal agencies obligated $3.8 billion in awards whose place of performance is Philadelphia, PA, about $2,433 per resident.
Philadelphia is 61st 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 down 39.7% from FY2024 ($6.4 billion). Compared with FY2019, the last year before pandemic relief, it is up 14.4%. The largest share came as grants ($1.8 billion). The Department of Health and Human Services obligated the most ($1.1 billion), and the largest program was Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers ($387.8 million). By this measure Philadelphia ranks 30th 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 PHILADELPHIA, state PA). 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 Pennsylvania page, which includes those payments.
Federal money to Philadelphia by year
Philadelphia: $3.8B in FY2025, up 14% 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 | $885.6M | $1.8B | $492.8M | -$319,941 | $212,535 | $3.2B | – |
| FY2019 | $997.5M | $1.8B | $512.4M | -$598,868 | $207,267 | $3.3B | – |
| FY2020 | $1.2B | $2.2B | $817.1M | $7.0M | $5.7M | $4.2B | $2,637 |
| FY2021 | $1.3B | $2.6B | $2.1B | $1.1M | $4.1M | $5.9B | $3,725 |
| FY2022 | $1.3B | $1.1B | $567.1M | $1.4M | $17.8M | $2.9B | $1,863 |
| FY2023 | $1.4B | $1.5B | $618.6M | -$1.2M | $322,974 | $3.4B | $2,195 |
| FY2024 | $1.2B | $4.5B | $635.9M | $3.1M | $157,489 | $6.4B | $4,040 |
| FY2025 | $1.3B | $1.8B | $757.8M | $1.7M | $1.3M | $3.8B | $2,433 |
| FY2026* | $838.5M | $1.8B | $736.0M | $5.9M | $1.3M | $3.4B | – |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury).
Cities with similar totals
Philadelphia and the cities ranked either side of it
FY2025 federal awards performed in each city, total dollars.
| Colorado Springs, CO | $4.0 billion |
| Seattle, WA | $3.8 billion |
| Philadelphia, PA (this page) | $3.8 billion |
| Denver, CO | $3.8 billion |
| Norfolk, VA | $3.7 billion |
Who pays and for what, FY2025
The agencies that obligated the most to Philadelphia, 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 Health and Human Services | $1.1 billion | 28.4% |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $879.9 million | 23.0% |
| Department of Defense | $851.8 million | 22.2% |
| Department of Transportation | $255.8 million | 6.7% |
| Department of Education | $251.0 million | 6.6% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $124.3 million | 3.2% |
| National Science Foundation | $80.8 million | 2.1% |
| General Services Administration | $71.2 million | 1.9% |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $53.0 million | 1.4% |
| Department of Energy | $37.5 million | 1.0% |
Top programs
| Program | FY2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers Assistance Listing 14.871 | $387.8 million | 10.1% |
| Federal Pell Grant Program Assistance Listing 84.063 | $202.8 million | 5.3% |
| Public Housing Operating Fund Assistance Listing 14.850 | $184.9 million | 4.8% |
| Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant Program Assistance Listing 20.708 | $115.0 million | 3.0% |
| Airport Improvement Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs, and COVID-19 Airports Programs Assistance Listing 20.106 | $112.2 million | 2.9% |
| Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) Assistance Listing 14.195 | $100.2 million | 2.6% |
| Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.855 | $81.9 million | 2.1% |
| Cardiovascular Diseases Research Assistance Listing 93.837 | $64.7 million | 1.7% |
| Cancer Treatment Research Assistance Listing 93.395 | $58.7 million | 1.5% |
| Public Housing Capital Fund Assistance Listing 14.872 | $57.0 million | 1.5% |
Nearby on this site
Universities in Philadelphia
Questions and answers
- How much federal money does Philadelphia get?
- $3.8 billion in FY2025 in awards performed in Philadelphia, PA, according to USAspending.gov. That excludes most payments to individuals, which are published only by county.
- How much is that per resident?
- About $2,433 per resident, using the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate of 1,574,281 people.
- Which agency spends the most in Philadelphia?
- The Department of Health and Human Services, with $1.1 billion 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 (PHILADELPHIA) in PA, 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 (Philadelphia city).
- How the figures are built, and what they leave out: sources and methods.