Metropolitan counties received substantially higher levels of per capita Federal funding than nonmetropolitan counties in fiscal year 1985. The gap between metro and nonmetro funding increased slightly since fiscal year 1980 due to increases in defense spending. The metro-nonmetro differences in nondefense fund levels narrowed considerably during the first half of the 1980's. Metro and nonmetro counties differed in the composition of their funding in 1985. Metro counties received greater amounts of defense funding, while nonmetro counties depended more heavily on agricultural assistance, natural resource, and income transfer funds. Differences in the per capita level and composition of funding differed considerably among the various categories of nonmetro counties.