States Ranked by Dependence on Federal Money
All 50 states measured two ways: how much of their state budget comes from Washington, and how many federal dollars flow back per tax dollar sent.
How this ranking works
Federal dependence is measured here with two named rulers, because the two honest ways of asking the question give different answers. The first ruler is budget dependence: the share of a state government's total revenue that comes from federal funds, as compiled by The Pew Charitable Trusts from Census Bureau data for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Nationally, federal dollars were 36.4 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2022 and 36 percent in fiscal 2023 (Pew). The second ruler is the taxpayer flow: each state's balance of payments with the federal government, the difference between all federal spending received in a state and all federal taxes paid from it, as calculated annually by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. For federal fiscal year 2023, the average state received about 4,099 dollars per resident more than it paid, and only three states, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington, ran a negative per-capita balance (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The composite score is ordinal and analytical; it averages a state's standing on the two rulers. The per-state subscores below surface both components directly: the federal share of state revenue from Pew, and the per-capita balance of payments from Rockefeller, each converted to a 0 to 100 index so a higher value always means more federal money relative to what the state sends in. Both source years are stated because pandemic-era aid inflated every state's federal share and the unwind is still in progress.
The framing is deliberately neutral in both directions. A high rank is not an accusation of freeloading: federal money arrives as Medicaid for the poor, salaries for military bases, contracts for defense plants, and pensions for retirees, and states host those things in very different amounts. A low rank is not a badge of virtue: it mostly reflects high incomes generating high federal tax bills. The numbers describe flows, not character.
1New MexicoMost federally dependent on the composite100.0
Second-highest per-capita balance of payments in the nation at 16,178 dollars per resident above taxes paid, combined with one of the highest Medicaid enrollment rates in the country, driven by federal labs and military installations (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: New Mexico posted a per-capita balance of payments of 16,178 dollars in 2023, second only to Virginia, powered by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, several military bases, and one of the nation's highest Medicaid enrollment rates (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). It ranks high on both rulers at once, which is why it leads the composite ahead of states that top only one measure.
2LouisianaHighest federal share of state revenue97.8
Federal funds were 50.5 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2022 and 50.1 percent in fiscal 2023, the highest share in the nation both years (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
The receipts: Louisiana's state budget drew 50.1 percent of its revenue from federal funds in fiscal 2023, the single highest share in the country and roughly double the lowest states, anchored by a Medicaid-heavy budget structure (Pew, 2025). It leads the budget ruler outright, which carries it to second on the composite.
3AlaskaPacific96.5
Federal funds were about 50 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2022, among the highest in the nation, and its per-capita balance of payments of 14,760 dollars ranked third best in 2023 (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Alaska's per-capita balance of payments of 14,760 dollars ranked third in 2023, and federal funds supplied roughly half its state revenue, one of the highest shares in the country (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022). Both rulers place it near the top.
4West VirginiaSouth94.9
A per-capita balance of payments of 12,130 dollars in 2023, fifth highest in the nation, receiving far more federal spending than its below-average federal tax payments send in (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: West Virginia's per-capita balance of payments reached 12,130 dollars in 2023, fifth best in the country, combining below-average federal tax payments with heavy Social Security, Medicare, and transfer receipts from an older, lower-income population (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
5MississippiSouth93.6
One of the states where federal funds, not state taxes, are the largest single source of state revenue (Pew, 2025), with one of the most favorable per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller data (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Federal funds are the largest single source of Mississippi's state revenue, larger than its own tax collections, and its per-capita balance of payments is among the most favorable in the nation, reflecting low incomes and heavy transfer receipts (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
6ArizonaSouthwest92.4
Federal funds were 48.8 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2023, second highest in the nation, reflecting a Medicaid-heavy budget structure (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
The receipts: Arizona drew 48.8 percent of its state revenue from federal funds in fiscal 2023, the second-highest share behind Louisiana, driven by one of the country's largest Medicaid programs (Pew, 2025).
7KentuckySouth90.8
Consistently among the most favorable per-capita balances of payments in the Rockefeller Institute's annual series, combining below-average federal tax payments with above-average transfer receipts (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Kentucky combines below-average federal tax payments with above-average Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid receipts, keeping it among the most favorable per-capita balances of payments in the Rockefeller series year after year (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
8MarylandFederal workforce channel89.5
A per-capita balance of payments of 13,037 dollars in 2023, fourth highest in the nation, earned a different way: federal salaries and procurement around Washington, not poverty programs (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Maryland's per-capita balance of payments reached 13,037 dollars in 2023, fourth best in the country, but earned through federal salaries and procurement around Washington rather than transfer programs; the Rockefeller Institute names the federal workforce as one of its two big categories of getters (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
9VirginiaProcurement channel88.6
The most favorable per-capita balance of payments of any state in 2023 at 16,650 dollars per resident, earned through Pentagon salaries and defense contracts even though only about 28 percent of its state budget is federal (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022).
The receipts: Virginia posted the single most favorable per-capita balance of payments in the nation in 2023, 16,650 dollars per resident, driven by the Pentagon, federal salaries, and defense procurement, even though its state budget is only about 28 percent federally funded, third lowest (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022). The two rulers split sharply, which is why the composite places it ninth rather than first.
10AlabamaSouth87.0
A long-standing top-tier recipient in per-capita balance of payments terms, anchored by military installations, federal retirees, and transfer programs (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Alabama's favorable per-capita balance of payments rests on military installations such as Redstone Arsenal, a large federal-retiree population, and heavy transfer receipts, keeping it in the top tier of the Rockefeller series (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
11ArkansasSouth85.9
Among the states where federal funds were the largest single revenue source in fiscal 2023, ahead of the state's own tax collections (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
The receipts: Federal funds outpaced Arkansas's own tax collections as the largest single source of state revenue in fiscal 2023, and its per-capita balance of payments stays favorable on below-average federal tax payments (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
12MontanaMountain West84.7
Federal funds were about 34 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2022, and a small, older, lower-income population keeps the per-capita balance of payments comfortably positive (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Montana's federal share of state revenue ran near 34 percent in fiscal 2022, and its small, older, lower-income population pulls in above-average per-capita transfer and land-management spending, keeping its balance of payments favorable (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
13OklahomaSouth83.6
A reliably favorable balance of payments per capita in the Rockefeller series, with federal funds rivaling state taxes as the budget's largest source in recent fiscal years (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, 2025).
The receipts: Oklahoma runs a reliably favorable per-capita balance of payments on military bases such as Tinker Air Force Base and heavy transfer receipts, with federal funds rivaling its own tax collections as the largest budget source in recent years (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, 2025).
14MaineNortheast82.5
An older population pulls in above-average Social Security and Medicare flows per resident, keeping Maine's balance of payments comfortably positive (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Maine has one of the oldest populations in the country, which pulls in above-average per-capita Social Security and Medicare spending and keeps its balance of payments comfortably positive despite modest incomes (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
15South CarolinaSouth81.7
Among the more favorable per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller Institute's series, combining military installations with below-average federal tax payments per person (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: South Carolina combines military installations such as Fort Jackson and Joint Base Charleston with below-average federal tax payments per person, producing one of the more favorable per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller series (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
16TennesseeSouth80.4
A favorable per-capita balance of payments with no state income tax, so federal transfers loom large against locally raised revenue (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
17MissouriMidwest79.2
Home to major federal facilities and a favorable per-capita balance of payments in the Rockefeller series (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
18IdahoMountain West78.0
Extensive federal land management and transfer receipts keep the per-capita balance of payments positive against modest federal tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
19IndianaMidwest76.9
A middle-of-the-pack federal share of state revenue and a modestly favorable per-capita balance of payments (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
20VermontNortheast75.8
A small, older population and a Medicaid-heavy budget keep the federal share of state revenue above the national average (Pew, 2025).
21MichiganMidwest74.6
A federal share of state revenue near the national average and a modestly positive per-capita balance of payments (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
22OhioMidwest73.5
A large Medicaid program keeps the federal share of state revenue close to the national average (Pew, 2025).
23WisconsinMidwest72.3
A federal share of state revenue near the national average with a per-capita balance of payments only modestly positive (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
24PennsylvaniaNortheast71.1
A large, older population supports above-average Social Security and Medicare receipts against substantial federal tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
25OregonPacific Northwest70.0
A Medicaid-heavy budget lifts the federal share of state revenue above the national average even as high incomes raise tax payments (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
26GeorgiaSouth68.8
Military installations and a growing Medicaid program keep the balance of payments favorable against a fast-rising tax base (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
27North CarolinaSouth67.6
Large military installations such as Fort Bragg support a favorable spending inflow against a growing, higher-income tax base (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
28NevadaSouthwest66.5
A middle-of-the-pack federal share of state revenue with a per-capita balance of payments near the national average (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
29Rhode IslandNortheast65.3
A Medicaid-heavy budget keeps the federal share of state revenue above average despite relatively high incomes (Pew, 2025).
30IowaMidwest64.1
Agricultural support payments and transfer receipts keep the per-capita balance of payments positive against modest federal tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
31South DakotaPlains63.0
No state income tax and heavy federal land and tribal spending keep federal money large relative to locally raised revenue (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
32KansasPlains61.8
A relatively low federal share of state revenue in fiscal 2023 at 27.2 percent, third lowest in the nation, balanced by a modestly favorable spending inflow (Pew, 2025).
33TexasSouth60.6
Enormous gross federal spending on military bases and NASA, but a large no-income-tax population keeps the per-capita balance of payments near the national average (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
34FloridaSouth59.5
One of the nation's largest retiree populations drives heavy Social Security and Medicare inflows, offset by a large no-income-tax tax base (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
35DelawareNortheast58.3
A middle-ranking per-capita balance of payments, with corporate-heavy federal tax collections offsetting spending receipts (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
36NebraskaPlains57.1
Agricultural payments and transfer receipts against above-average incomes keep the per-capita balance of payments near the national average (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
37WyomingHigh budget share, modest flow56.0
The two rulers disagree here, and both are shown: 46.1 percent of state revenue was federal in fiscal 2022 and 2023, fourth highest, yet its overall balance of payments was among the least favorable per resident (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
38UtahMountain West54.8
A young, high-employment population and heavy federal land holdings produce a per-capita balance of payments only modestly positive (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
39ColoradoMountain West53.6
High incomes generate large federal tax payments that offset substantial federal facility spending, keeping the per-capita balance near break-even (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
40IllinoisMidwest52.5
High incomes and a large tax base keep the per-capita balance of payments below the national average despite substantial federal spending (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
41MinnesotaMidwest51.4
Consistently near the bottom of per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller series, a high-income state whose federal tax payments largely offset its receipts (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Minnesota's high incomes generate federal tax payments that largely offset its receipts, keeping it near the bottom of per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller series year after year (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
42CaliforniaPacific50.3
A per-capita balance of payments of just 342 dollars in 2023, close to break-even, a striking position for the state receiving the largest gross federal spending total in the country; its enormous tax payments cancel most of it (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Sisney analysis, 2025).
The receipts: California's per-capita balance of payments was only 342 dollars in 2023, nearly break-even and the second lowest of any state that stayed positive, because its enormous federal tax payments cancel most of the largest gross federal spending total in the nation (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Sisney analysis, 2025).
43ConnecticutNortheast49.2
Long among the least favorable balances of payments per person, as some of the nation's highest incomes generate outsized federal tax bills (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Connecticut's residents earn some of the highest incomes in the country, generating outsized federal tax bills that keep its per-capita balance of payments among the least favorable of any state (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
44New YorkNortheast48.0
Received a positive but below-average per-capita balance of payments in FFY 2023 after years of running outright negative before the pandemic (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: New York's per-capita balance of payments turned positive but stayed well below the national average in 2023, a rebound from the outright negative balances it ran before the pandemic, as high-income tax payments offset heavy Medicaid and transfer receipts (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
45HawaiiLowest budget share, FY 202346.9
The lowest federal share of state revenue in fiscal 2023 at 24.1 percent, and 25.9 percent in fiscal 2022 (Pew, 2025). The caveat is stated: heavy defense spending still makes Hawaii's balance of payments favorable, so this rank rests mainly on the budget ruler.
The receipts: Hawaii had the lowest federal share of state revenue in the nation in fiscal 2023 at 24.1 percent, though heavy Pacific-fleet and Indo-Pacific Command defense spending keeps its balance of payments favorable, so this rank rests mainly on the budget ruler (Pew, 2025).
46North DakotaLow budget share, FY 202245.8
The lowest federal share of state revenue in the nation in fiscal 2022 at 22.2 percent and among the lowest in fiscal 2023 at 27.3 percent, a budget built instead on oil and gas revenue (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
The receipts: North Dakota ran the lowest federal share of state revenue in the country in fiscal 2022 at 22.2 percent, and one of the lowest again in fiscal 2023 at 27.3 percent, because oil and gas severance revenue funds much of the budget in place of federal grants (Pew, 2025).
47New HampshireNortheast44.6
Essentially break-even with Washington: a per-capita balance of payments of just 23 dollars in FFY 2023, the closest to zero of any state on the positive side (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: New Hampshire ran essentially break-even with Washington in 2023, a per-capita balance of payments of just 23 dollars, the closest to zero of any state that stayed positive, as high incomes and no broad income or sales tax leave federal transfers small relative to tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
48WashingtonPacific Northwest43.4
One of only three states with a negative per-capita balance of payments in FFY 2023, at negative 7 dollars per resident, essentially break-even on the wrong side (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Washington was one of only three states with a negative per-capita balance of payments in 2023, at negative 7 dollars per resident, as high tech-sector incomes generate federal tax payments that just edge out its federal spending receipts (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
49MassachusettsNortheast42.1
A negative per-capita balance of payments of 967 dollars in FFY 2023, the second-largest net contribution per resident of any state (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: Massachusetts ran a negative per-capita balance of payments of 967 dollars in 2023, the second-largest net contribution per resident of any state, driven by some of the nation's highest incomes and federal tax bills (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
50New JerseyLeast federally dependent40.8
The nation's largest net contributor per resident: a negative per-capita balance of payments of 2,011 dollars in FFY 2023, meaning New Jersey taxpayers sent in far more than the state received back in all federal spending combined (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The receipts: New Jersey ran the nation's largest negative per-capita balance of payments in 2023 at negative 2,011 dollars per resident, the deepest of the three donor states, because its very high incomes generate federal tax payments that exceed everything Washington spends there (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
Click any entry to open its full scorecard, sub-scores, and the receipts.
Federal share of state government revenue, FY 2023
Two honest questions, two different maps
Ask how dependent a state government's budget is on Washington and you get one map: Louisiana highest at 50.1 percent of state revenue in fiscal 2023, Hawaii lowest at 24.1 percent, with a national average of 36 percent (Pew, 2025). Ask which states' residents get back more than they pay in federal taxes and you get a different map: Virginia, New Mexico, Alaska, Maryland, and West Virginia with the most favorable per-capita balances, and New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington the only three states with a negative per-capita balance (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The maps disagree because they measure different pipes. The budget measure counts only grants to state governments, mostly Medicaid. The balance-of-payments measure counts everything: Social Security checks, military salaries, defense contracts, farm payments, and federal pensions. This report uses both and says which is driving each state's position. Virginia is the clearest case of the split: it leads the nation on the per-capita flow at 16,650 dollars per resident yet ranks third lowest on budget share at about 28 percent, which is why the composite places it ninth rather than first (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022).
The pandemic distortion is still washing out
Federal aid surged during the pandemic and pushed the federal share of state budgets to a record 36.7 percent in fiscal 2021; it was still 36.4 percent in 2022 and 36 percent in 2023, well above pre-pandemic norms (Pew, 2024-2025). In fiscal 2022, federal funds were the single largest revenue source in 16 states, more than state taxes; by fiscal 2023 that had eased to 13 states, against five before the pandemic (Pew).
The balance-of-payments data show the same tide. During peak COVID spending, every state received more than it paid. By FFY 2023 the pre-pandemic pattern had partially returned, with three donor states re-emerging and the average state receiving 4,099 dollars per resident more than it paid (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). Both trends matter for reading this table: a state's fiscal 2022 share overstates its steady-state dependence, and the ranking notes the year on every figure.
Dependence arrives through different doors
The neutral framing earns its keep in the details. New Mexico tops the composite through federal laboratories, military bases, and one of the highest Medicaid enrollment rates in the country. Virginia and Maryland rank high on the flow measure because the federal workforce and defense procurement concentrate there; the Rockefeller Institute's own analysis names the federal workforce and low-income states as the two big categories of getters (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). Maine's draw is demographic: an older population collecting earned benefits. Louisiana's is programmatic: a Medicaid-heavy state budget.
None of these is the same phenomenon, and lumping them as freeloading would be false. It would be equally false to read the donor list as sacrifice. New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington pay more because their residents earn more, and the federal tax code is progressive by design. The scoreboard does not care which story flatters whom.
The red-state, blue-state talking point survives only half-checked
The familiar claim that red states take and blue states make has real data behind it and real exceptions inside it. The three net-donor states in FFY 2023 all vote Democratic, and most of the highest per-capita recipients, West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, vote Republican (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). That much checks out.
The exceptions are just as factual. Deep-blue New Mexico is the most dependent state in the nation on the composite. Blue Virginia and Maryland rank first and fourth on federal inflows per capita, on the strength of the federal workforce. Red Wyoming's balance of payments is among the least favorable per resident in the country, and red North Dakota ran the most federally independent state budget in America at 22.2 percent in fiscal 2022 (Pew, 2025). Readers who want this table to be a partisan scoreboard will have to ignore a third of it. If that principle produces discomfort, the discomfort belongs to the reader, not the data.
What the subscores reveal about split states
The two-ruler design does its most useful work on the states where the rulers disagree, and the subscores print that disagreement plainly. Virginia scores 40 of 100 on budget share and 100 of 100 on the per-capita flow, the widest split of any state, because the Pentagon writes salaries and contracts that never touch the state budget (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022). Wyoming runs the opposite split: a high 46.1 percent federal budget share against one of the least favorable per-capita balances, because oil and mineral royalties inflate both federal grants and resident incomes at once (Pew, 2025; Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
Hawaii shows why the composite refuses to crown a single number. On the budget ruler it is the least dependent state at 24.1 percent, yet on the flow ruler heavy Pacific-fleet defense spending keeps it favorable (Pew, 2025). Ranking it purely by budget share would call it independent; ranking it purely by flow would call it dependent. The honest answer is that it depends which pipe you count, and the subscores let the reader see both before drawing a conclusion.
Per-capita balance of payments with the federal government, FFY 2023
How the dependence picture has shifted since the pandemic
The single biggest movement in this data is the slow unwind of pandemic aid. The federal share of state budgets hit a record 36.7 percent in fiscal 2021, when emergency relief flooded every state, then eased to 36.4 percent in 2022 and 36 percent in 2023, and Pew reported the decline continuing into fiscal 2024 (Pew, 2025; Pew, 2026). The count of states where federal funds were the single largest revenue source fell from 16 in fiscal 2022 to 13 in fiscal 2023, moving back toward the pre-pandemic norm of five (Pew, 2025).
The balance-of-payments series moved on the same tide. At the height of COVID spending in 2020 and 2021, every single state received more federal money than it paid, temporarily erasing the donor states entirely (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). By federal fiscal year 2023 the pre-pandemic structure had partially reasserted itself: three donor states re-emerged, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington, and the spread between the most and least favorable per-capita balances widened again from Virginia's positive 16,650 dollars to New Jersey's negative 2,011 dollars (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
Two longer arcs sit underneath the pandemic noise. First, the donor states have been consistent for a decade: high-income Northeastern and West Coast states with progressive federal tax exposure keep landing at the bottom, while low-income Southern states and federal-workforce hubs keep landing at the top (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). Second, New York's trajectory is the clearest single-state movement in the series, climbing from an outright negative balance before the pandemic to a positive but still below-average per-capita balance in 2023, as Medicaid and transfer receipts grew relative to its tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). The composite ranks a snapshot, but the direction of travel is toward the pre-2020 pattern, not away from it.
The Virginia split: how the two rulers disagree (index 0-100)
What the evidence settles
The evidence settles the magnitudes: federal funds supply about 36 percent of all state government revenue, Louisiana's budget is the most federally funded at just over 50 percent for two straight years, and in FFY 2023 only New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington ran a negative per-capita balance of payments, with New Jersey's the deepest at negative 2,011 dollars per resident (Pew; Rockefeller Institute, 2025). Virginia's position as the most favorable per-capita recipient at 16,650 dollars is consistent with its defense and federal-workforce concentration.
What remains contested
What remains contested is what dependence means and how to count it. Defense spending is the biggest argument: counting a submarine contract in Virginia or a naval base in Hawaii as dependence strikes many analysts as a category error, since the spending serves the whole country. Pandemic-era distortions are still unwinding, so any single year overstates or understates the steady state. And the donor-state framing itself is disputed, because progressive taxation, not state policy, produces most of the imbalance.
Questions people ask
Which state is most dependent on the federal government?
On this composite, New Mexico, which ranks second on the per-capita balance of payments at 16,178 dollars per resident and high on Medicaid-driven budget share at once (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). By state budget share alone it is Louisiana, where federal funds were just over 50 percent of state revenue in both fiscal 2022 and 2023 (Pew).
Which states pay more to Washington than they get back?
In federal fiscal year 2023, only three ran a negative per-capita balance: New Jersey (negative 2,011 dollars per resident), Massachusetts (negative 967 dollars), and Washington (negative 7 dollars). Every other state received more than it paid (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
Do red states really depend on blue states?
Partly. The three donor states are blue and most top per-capita recipients are red, but blue New Mexico is the most dependent state on the composite, blue Virginia and Maryland rank first and fourth on per-capita inflows, and red North Dakota ran the least federally funded budget at 22.2 percent (Pew; Rockefeller Institute). The pattern is real; the purity is not.
How much of state budgets comes from federal money?
About 36 percent nationally in fiscal 2023, down slightly from the record 36.7 percent set during the pandemic. In 13 states, federal funds were still the single largest revenue source, larger than the state's own tax collections (Pew, 2025).
Why does Virginia rank so differently on the two measures?
Virginia leads the nation in per-capita federal money received, 16,650 dollars per resident in 2023, because of Pentagon salaries and defense contracts, yet only about 28 percent of its state budget is federal, third lowest. The defense spending flows to workers and companies, not through the state government's books (Rockefeller Institute, 2025; Pew, FY 2022).
Sources
- Pew Charitable Trusts, Where States Get Their Money, FY 2022 https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/data-visualizations/2024/where-states-get-their-money-fy-2022
- Pew Charitable Trusts, Where States Get Their Money, FY 2023 https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/data-visualizations/2025/06/where-states-get-their-money-fy-2023
- Pew Charitable Trusts, Federal Share of State Budgets Remains High, But Uncertainties Lie Ahead, 2025 https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2025/06/16/federal-share-of-state-budgets-remains-high-but-uncertainties-lie-ahead
- Pew Charitable Trusts, Federal Share of State Budgets Continues Decline From Pandemic Highs, 2026 https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/05/28/federal-share-of-state-budgets-continues-decline-from-pandemic-highs
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, Giving or Getting? Balance of Payments with the Federal Government (2025 report, FFY 2023 data) https://rockinst.org/issue-area/bop-2025/
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, 2025 Balance of Payments report (full PDF) https://rockinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-bop-report-web.pdf
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, Giving or Getting? Balance of Payments report, 2024 https://rockinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Balance-of-Payments-Federal-2024.pdf
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, Balance of Payments Portal https://rockinst.org/issue-areas/fiscal-analysis/balance-of-payments-portal/
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, Who Are the Getters? The Federal Workforce and Low Income States Get the Most https://rockinst.org/blog/who-are-the-getters-the-federal-workforce-and-low-income-states-get-the-most/
- Jason Sisney, Updated data on donor state California, 2025 https://jasonsisney.substack.com/p/updated-data-on-donor-state-california
- Axios, Which states get more federal money than they send, 2025 https://www.axios.com/2025/02/12/states-money-federal-government
Parker, T. E. (2026). States Ranked by Dependence on Federal Money. US Political Rank. https://uspoliticalrank.com/rankings/states-by-federal-dependence<iframe src="https://uspoliticalrank.com/embed/states-by-federal-dependence" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #ddd;border-radius:8px" title="States Ranked by Dependence on Federal Money" loading="lazy"></iframe>Keep reading
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