Received more than they paid
Federal spending there was greater than the federal taxes assigned to those states.
Following federal dollars
Money by State
How much do people and businesses in each state pay in federal taxes? How much federal spending comes back?
The 2024 picture
Paid more than they received
Federal taxes assigned to those states were greater than federal spending there.
Received for each $1 paid
National ratio for the spending and taxes covered by this study, including D.C.
How can most states get more back? The federal government can spend more than it collects and borrow to cover the gap. These figures are not a closed pot of money that states simply trade with each other.
Does receiving more mean a state depends on welfare?
No. The total also includes Social Security, Medicare, federal workers’ pay, military spending, and contracts with businesses. Look at the spending breakdown to understand where the money goes.
Compare states
Over $1: more spending received than taxes paid. Under $1: more taxes paid than spending received. A larger ratio does not tell us whether a state is run well.
Party labels are dated snapshots. They show which party had more than half the seats in each chamber, not the governor’s party or who led a coalition. A snapshot does not cover the full fiscal year. Nebraska has one officially nonpartisan chamber. D.C. is not included in this state-legislature dataset.
B = billion; M = million. Figures are estimates, in dollars of that year. Swipe across on smaller screens.
| State | Taxes paid | Spending received | Received minus paid | Received per $1 paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $51.42B | $101.46B | +$50.04BReceived more | $1.97 |
| Alaska | $9.62B | $19.00B | +$9.38BReceived more | $1.98 |
| Arizona | $91.66B | $131.15B | +$39.49BReceived more | $1.43 |
| Arkansas | $31.75B | $50.88B | +$19.13BReceived more | $1.60 |
| California | $666.89B | $628.01B | −$38.88BPaid more | $0.94 |
| Colorado | $93.59B | $93.60B | +$7.55MReceived more | $1.00 |
| Connecticut | $71.57B | $72.91B | +$1.35BReceived more | $1.02 |
| Delaware | $16.13B | $18.21B | +$2.08BReceived more | $1.13 |
| District of Columbia | $17.99B | $74.28B | +$56.29BReceived more | $4.13 |
| Florida | $327.85B | $396.64B | +$68.80BReceived more | $1.21 |
| Georgia | $133.64B | $166.44B | +$32.79BReceived more | $1.25 |
| Hawaii | $16.78B | $34.91B | +$18.13BReceived more | $2.08 |
| Idaho | $21.85B | $29.59B | +$7.73BReceived more | $1.35 |
| Illinois | $191.29B | $184.06B | −$7.23BPaid more | $0.96 |
| Indiana | $81.37B | $101.73B | +$20.36BReceived more | $1.25 |
| Iowa | $39.30B | $45.78B | +$6.47BReceived more | $1.16 |
| Kansas | $36.21B | $44.74B | +$8.53BReceived more | $1.24 |
| Kentucky | $44.67B | $91.04B | +$46.38BReceived more | $2.04 |
| Louisiana | $44.99B | $82.51B | +$37.52BReceived more | $1.83 |
| Maine | $16.13B | $28.59B | +$12.46BReceived more | $1.77 |
| Maryland | $95.45B | $160.84B | +$65.40BReceived more | $1.69 |
| Massachusetts | $135.63B | $122.58B | −$13.04BPaid more | $0.90 |
| Michigan | $120.80B | $157.94B | +$37.14BReceived more | $1.31 |
| Minnesota | $85.22B | $80.75B | −$4.47BPaid more | $0.95 |
| Mississippi | $24.66B | $57.10B | +$32.44BReceived more | $2.32 |
| Missouri | $73.53B | $114.65B | +$41.12BReceived more | $1.56 |
| Montana | $13.32B | $19.43B | +$6.11BReceived more | $1.46 |
| Nebraska | $27.04B | $28.74B | +$1.70BReceived more | $1.06 |
| Nevada | $47.89B | $47.36B | −$537.03MPaid more | $0.99 |
| New Hampshire | $24.22B | $23.48B | −$732.46MPaid more | $0.97 |
| New Jersey | $165.21B | $136.15B | −$29.06BPaid more | $0.82 |
| New Mexico | $19.43B | $57.95B | +$38.52BReceived more | $2.98 |
| New York | $353.50B | $341.15B | −$12.36BPaid more | $0.97 |
| North Carolina | $131.46B | $180.03B | +$48.57BReceived more | $1.37 |
| North Dakota | $11.20B | $13.09B | +$1.89BReceived more | $1.17 |
| Ohio | $138.22B | $184.79B | +$46.56BReceived more | $1.34 |
| Oklahoma | $40.21B | $71.56B | +$31.35BReceived more | $1.78 |
| Oregon | $54.06B | $71.06B | +$17.00BReceived more | $1.31 |
| Pennsylvania | $175.21B | $230.48B | +$55.28BReceived more | $1.32 |
| Rhode Island | $14.59B | $19.90B | +$5.30BReceived more | $1.36 |
| South Carolina | $59.06B | $97.74B | +$38.68BReceived more | $1.65 |
| South Dakota | $14.90B | $15.83B | +$934.74MReceived more | $1.06 |
| Tennessee | $88.88B | $118.59B | +$29.70BReceived more | $1.33 |
| Texas | $418.07B | $447.19B | +$29.12BReceived more | $1.07 |
| Utah | $44.25B | $43.41B | −$840.18MPaid more | $0.98 |
| Vermont | $8.02B | $11.81B | +$3.79BReceived more | $1.47 |
| Virginia | $131.81B | $265.82B | +$134.01BReceived more | $2.02 |
| Washington | $139.43B | $128.64B | −$10.79BPaid more | $0.92 |
| West Virginia | $15.32B | $35.99B | +$20.67BReceived more | $2.35 |
| Wisconsin | $77.39B | $89.77B | +$12.38BReceived more | $1.16 |
| Wyoming | $10.09B | $10.49B | +$398.29MReceived more | $1.04 |
Follow one state over time
Annual figures cover 2016–2024, plus a 2013 checkpoint. There are no 2014 or 2015 figures in this series. Use “Dollars per resident” above to compare amounts after allowing for population size.
Read 2022 with care. The source counts an estimated cost for a student-loan cancellation plan that was later blocked. Its 2023 figures do not subtract that reversal. These are the reports’ published estimates, not proof that borrowers received that debt relief. Read the data notes.
| Fiscal year | Taxes paid | Spending received | Received minus paid | Received per $1 paid |
|---|
Where did the 2024 spending go?
These five groups add up to spending received. For example, Medicaid is in grants; Medicare is in payments to or for people.
A separate look back: 2005
The Tax Foundation published a 2005 comparison using a different study and method. Keep this snapshot separate from the modern series; it is not a like-for-like measure of change.
Choose a state above to see its 2005 ratio.
See the original 2005 table for every state and D.C. A displayed $1.00 is rounded, not proof of an exact balance.
What counts as money coming back?
Payments to or for people
Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, and other payments. This money does not all pass through a state government.
Grants
Federal support for Medicaid, schools, roads, housing, and other programs. Grants can go to governments and other organizations.
Jobs and contracts
Pay for federal civilian and military workers, plus purchases from businesses. A federal facility can serve the whole country while its spending appears in one state.
Taxes paid include individual income taxes, payroll taxes for programs such as Social Security and Medicare, corporate income taxes, excise taxes, and estate and gift taxes. These are federal taxes, not state income or property taxes. Source reports and methods.
Why do states get different amounts?
- Income: higher incomes and business activity can generate more federal taxes.
- Age and program eligibility: the number of retirees and people eligible for benefits affects spending.
- Federal jobs and facilities: military bases, agencies, laboratories, and contractors affect where money is recorded.
- Policy and events: tax laws, program rules, state participation, disasters, and emergency aid can change the totals.
Congress and the president set federal laws and budgets. States also make choices within some federal programs. The table alone cannot show that one party or one law caused a state’s balance.
How to read the numbers fairly
The year and the dollar amount
A federal fiscal year runs from October 1 of the prior year through September 30. “2024” means October 1, 2023–September 30, 2024. These are then-year dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Per-resident figures use each source report’s population estimate; they are not an average person’s tax bill or benefit payment.
2020–2023 need extra context
Pandemic aid raised spending sharply, especially in 2020 and 2021. Some aid continued afterward. The 2022 report includes the estimated cost of a student-loan cancellation plan later rejected by the Supreme Court; the 2023 study excludes the reversal from its state allocations. Do not read that accounting entry as cash received. 2022 method note · 2023 endnote 2.
What is left out?
The study does not assign every federal dollar to a state. Exclusions include customs duties, most debt interest, overseas spending, and some other amounts. Territories are outside this comparison. D.C. is shown separately and included in national totals, but not in the 50-state counts.
Why another website may show different numbers
Studies may use different ways to assign taxes and spending to states. This page uses one publisher’s modern series. It does not add Social Security or Medicare on top of totals that already include them, or mix raw IRS collections with these adjusted estimates. Contract locations and the location of economic activity also matter.
Rounding, missing data, and checks
Ratios and differences are calculated before display rounding. An amount close to zero may round to zero; missing values say “Not available.” The CSV retains greater precision. Published national figures are preserved. In the 2016 workbook, state and D.C. spending adds to $3 million more than the published national total; some other years have much smaller differences. We have not silently changed the source figures.
The checks matched taxes, spending, differences, and per-resident figures across all 520 modern records. The five 2024 spending categories also reconcile to total spending. Read the extraction and checking notes.
Sources & downloads
The modern figures come from the New York State Office of the State Comptroller. Its reports cover every state using federal budget and agency data. We use the data and methods, not the reports’ political commentary.
Download all modern figures (CSV) Source and checking notes
2024 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2023 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2022 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2021 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2020 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2019 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2018 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2017 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2016 · Report · Original spreadsheet
2013 · Report · Original spreadsheet
Older context: Tax Foundation’s 2005 study. The Census Bureau’s older federal spending program was discontinued, one reason a single consistent 20-year series is difficult.
Related: National Debt · Taxes by Bracket · How we check information