Photo by Staff file photo by Sam Yu More than $2.5 billion came to Frederick County from the federal government in 2008. Much of this came through Fort Detrick, which houses elements of the National Cancer Institute, Department of Agriculture, and National Interagency Biodefense Campus as well as military facilities. At right is Military Road. Rosemont Avenue is at the bottom.
	MORE INFORMATION Searchable Database: Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Frederick County, by Program, for Fiscal Year 2008 Searchable Database: Consolidated Federal Funds for Maryland, by County, for Fiscal Year 2008 Frederick Watchdog: Your portal to access databases, special projects, investigative reports and more

The federal government spent $2.5 billion in the county, compared with $2.2 billion in 2007, the bureau's Consolidated Funds Report states.

In 2008, the federal government spending in Frederick County was about $11,079 per person, based on the report and U.S. Census population estimates. The national average was $9,134, and Maryland's average per capita spending was $13,829.

Among Maryland counties, Frederick 's per capita federal spending ranked eighth, with St. Mary's County and Baltimore city topping the list of per capita spending.

Frederick hosts several federal research institutions, including the National Institutes of Health and Fort Detrick's U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Frederick County saw a large increase in federal research grants, which went up by about $52.9 million, from $25.7 million in 2007 to $78.5 million in 2008.

Those grants included money for cancer prevention and treatment, and for diabetes, allergies and infectious diseases research.

They also included other types of research, including renewable energy and military medical research.

While most categories of spending in the county went up, federal wages declined from $252.4 million in 2007 to $215.6 million in 2008.

Highway planning and construction money also dropped, from $47.9 million in 2007 to $26.4 million in 2008.

The report does not include stimulus funding approved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, since that was passed in fiscal 2009.

Food stamp payments, a potential economic indicator, went up in the county from $5.3 million in 2007 to $6.4 million in 2008.

Among Frederick 's municipalities, people in Frederick city received the most total funding, with about $788 million. The smallest amount was Burkittsville , with $18,571.

Per capita, Emmitsburg had the most funding, with about $21,657 per person.

Funding in Emmitsburg included procurement contracts for $38 million and $3.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Emmitsburg is the site of FEMA's National Emergency Training Center.