Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Commodity.com.
For many Americans, the federal government’s legislation packages to stimulate the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic are notable for the direct relief they have offered to individual households, such as stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits.
But these bills have also brought unprecedented levels of federal investment in state and local governments.
One of the major features of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March of this year, was a $350 billion fund for states, territories, cities, counties, and tribal governments across the nation to supplement their own revenues.
The package also included large pots of funding for areas like health, education, infrastructure, and others that are funded through state and local dollars. The American Rescue Plan followed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act from March 2020 and other pandemic relief packages that offered aid for similar purposes.
The aid provided to state and local governments in the COVID-19 stimulus bills was intended to ward off cutbacks to public services at a time when many observers feared that tax revenues would collapse as a result of the pandemic’s economic fallout.
To determine the states most dependent on federal aid, researchers at Commodity.com calculated federal funding as a share of total state and local government revenue using the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. In the event of a tie, the state with more federal funding per capita (per person) was ranked higher.
Here are the states most dependent on federal aid.
15. Indiana
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 25.6%
Federal funding per capita: $2,359
Total federal funding: $15,931,783,000
Total state revenue: $62,345,742,000
14. Michigan
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 25.6%
Federal funding per capita: $2,425
Total federal funding: $24,171,800,000
Total state revenue: $94,423,525,000
13. Tennessee
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 25.7%
Federal funding per capita: $1,842
Total federal funding: $12,687,675,000
Total state revenue: $49,301,966,000
12. Vermont
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 27.2%
Federal funding per capita: $3,342
Total federal funding: $2,083,514,000
Total state revenue: $7,665,670,000
11. Wyoming
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 27.7%
Federal funding per capita: $4,163
Total federal funding: $2,423,952,000
Total state revenue: $8,765,832,000
10. Alabama
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 27.9%
Federal funding per capita: $2,489
Total federal funding: $12,251,463,000
Total state revenue: $43,860,663,000
9. Arizona
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 29.7%
Federal funding per capita: $2,365
Total federal funding: $17,553,381,000
Total state revenue: $59,016,577,000
8. New Mexico
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 30.2%
Federal funding per capita: $3,663
Total federal funding: $7,715,923,000
Total state revenue: $25,517,327,000
7. Arkansas
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 30.3%
Federal funding per capita: $2,694
Total federal funding: $8,165,669,000
Total state revenue: $26,989,530,000
6. West Virginia
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 30.4%
Federal funding per capita: $2,966
Total federal funding: $5,292,991,000
Total state revenue: $17,438,498,000
5. Mississippi
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 31.4%
Federal funding per capita: $2,941
Total federal funding: $8,726,251,000
Total state revenue: $27,796,883,000
4. Kentucky
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 31.8%
Federal funding per capita: $2,854
Total federal funding: $12,780,283,000
Total state revenue: $40,238,628,000
3. Louisiana
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 32.3%
Federal funding per capita: $3,146
Total federal funding: $14,616,011,000
Total state revenue: $45,271,357,000
2. Alaska
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 32.7%
Federal funding per capita: $5,420
Total federal funding: $3,963,195,000
Total state revenue: $12,106,780,000
1. Montana
Federal funding as a share of total state revenue: 34.0%
Federal funding per capita: $3,219
Total federal funding: $3,477,855,000
Total state revenue: $10,222,926,000
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
To determine the states most dependent on federal aid, researchers calculated federal funding as a share of total state and local general revenue using the most recent data available. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater federal funding per person was ranked higher.
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