How Much Do States Spend on Education, Public Welfare, and Hospitals?

Based on recently released Census data, a new Tax Foundation report reveals state and local government spending priorities.

State and local government spending is broken down for nine specific functional categories and a miscellaneous catch-all: K-12 education, higher education, public welfare, hospitals and health, transportation, public safety, environment and housing, government administration, interest on debt and other. In each category, the percentage of total spending is shown so that state priorities can be compared whether combined state and local budgets are comparatively large or small.

Earlier this month, we reported on Census data on state and local government revenue sources. This new spending information completes the picture of state and local government finances.

Read Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 199, “Where Do State and Local Governments Concentrate Their Spending?” For more information on state and local government tax and spending, see the following sections of the website:

State Tax and Spending Policy (Choose one state from the drop-down menu or map, or view the full list of studies.)

• State and Local Budgets and Spending
  • Public vs. Private Sector Compensation
  • State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems
  • State and Local Government Employees and Pay, by Function
  • State and Local Governmental Units