The Geography of Political Money

Political money is not distributed evenly across America. Some states are outsized contributors to federal campaigns, while others barely register. But raw totals only tell part of the story. When you normalize by population, a very different picture emerges.

This analysis uses FEC itemized contribution data to map where political money comes from and identify which states truly punch above their weight.

What the data shows

California leads in raw contribution totals with $2321.3M from 492,775 donors. This is not surprising given its large population and economic power.

But the per-capita champion is District of Columbia with $2705.22 per resident. With a population of just 0.7M, this state punches far above its weight in political giving.

The per-capita analysis reveals which states have disproportionate political influence relative to their size. Small states with high-net-worth residents, major financial centers, and political power brokers often dominate this metric.

Methodology

This analysis uses FEC itemized individual contribution data (Schedule A receipts) aggregated by donor state. Only contributions above the $200 itemization threshold are included. State populations are based on 2023 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Per-capita calculations divide total state contributions by the state's population in millions, yielding a dollars-per-resident figure that normalizes for state size.