Federal government benefits contribute nearly a fifth of the average American's income.
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment and veterans benefits provide a substantial part of the nation's personal income, spanning political and socioeconomic divides.
As you can see in the map above, as of 2011, some counties have more than half of their personal income comprised of transfers from Washington.
About the Data
County income and benefit data is provided by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and can be downloaded in full here.