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 $1.20 in federal spending per dollar of federal taxes paid, and only three states, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington, paid in more than they got back (Rockefeller Institute, 2025).
The composite score is ordinal and analytical; it averages a state's standing on the two rulers. 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.
| Rank | Name | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New MexicoMost federally dependent on the compositeThe nation's most favorable balance of payments per person, on the order of $13,000 to $15,000 received per resident above taxes paid, driven by federal labs, military installations, and high Medicaid enrollment (Rockefeller Institute, 2024-2025). | 100.0 |
| 2 | LouisianaHighest federal share of state revenueFederal 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). | 97.8 |
| 3 | AlaskaPacific50.2 percent of state revenue came from federal funds in fiscal 2022, second highest, and its per-person balance of payments ranks among the nation's most favorable (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 96.5 |
| 4 | West VirginiaSouthAmong the highest per-capita balances of payments in the country, receiving far more federal spending than its below-average federal tax payments send in (Rockefeller Institute, FFY 2023). | 94.9 |
| 5 | MississippiSouthOne of the states where federal funds, not state taxes, are the largest single source of state revenue (Pew, FY 2022), with one of the most favorable per-dollar returns in the Rockefeller data. | 93.6 |
| 6 | ArizonaSouthwest49.7 percent of state revenue came from federal funds in fiscal 2022, third highest in the nation, reflecting a Medicaid-heavy budget structure (Pew Charitable Trusts, FY 2022). | 92.4 |
| 7 | KentuckySouthConsistently 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). | 90.8 |
| 8 | MarylandFederal workforce channelOne of the highest positive balances of payments in FFY 2023, earned a different way: federal salaries and procurement around Washington, not poverty programs (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 89.5 |
| 9 | WyomingHigh budget share, modest flowThe two rulers disagree here, and both are shown: 46.1 percent of state revenue was federal in fiscal 2022, fourth highest, yet its overall balance of payments was among the least favorable at about +$1.9 billion (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute, FFY 2023). | 88.1 |
| 10 | AlabamaSouthA long-standing top-tier recipient in per-capita balance of payments terms, anchored by military installations, federal retirees, and transfer programs (Rockefeller Institute annual series). | 87.0 |
| 11 | VirginiaProcurement channelAnother split verdict: only 27.6 percent of its state budget is federal, third lowest, but the Pentagon side of the ledger gives Virginia one of the largest gross federal spending inflows in the country through salaries and contracts (Pew, FY 2022; Rockefeller Institute). | 85.9 |
| 12 | ArkansasSouthAmong the states where federal funds were the largest single revenue source in fiscal 2022, ahead of the state's own tax collections (Pew Charitable Trusts). | 84.7 |
| 13 | OklahomaSouthA 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; Pew). | 83.6 |
| 14 | MaineNortheastAn older population pulls in above-average Social Security and Medicare flows per resident, keeping Maine's balance of payments comfortably positive (Rockefeller Institute annual series). | 82.5 |
| 15 | South CarolinaSouthAmong 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). | 81.7 |
| 41 | MinnesotaMidwestConsistently 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 annual series). | 57.4 |
| 42 | CaliforniaPacificHovers near the break-even line in recent balance-of-payments data, a striking position for a state receiving the largest gross federal spending total in the country; its enormous tax payments cancel most of it (Rockefeller Institute; Sisney analysis, 2025). | 56.3 |
| 43 | ConnecticutNortheastLong among the least favorable balances of payments per person, as some of the nation's highest incomes generate outsized federal tax bills (Rockefeller Institute annual series). | 55.2 |
| 44 | New YorkNortheastReceived about $1.04 back per federal tax dollar in FFY 2023, far below the $1.20 state average, after years of running outright negative before the pandemic (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 54.0 |
| 45 | HawaiiLowest budget share, FY 2023The lowest federal share of state revenue in fiscal 2023 at 24.1 percent, and 25.9 percent in fiscal 2022 (Pew). The caveat is stated: heavy defense spending still makes Hawaii's balance of payments favorable, so this rank rests mainly on the budget ruler. | 52.9 |
| 46 | North DakotaLowest budget share, FY 2022The lowest federal share of state revenue in the nation in fiscal 2022 at 22.2 percent, a budget built instead on oil and gas revenue (Pew Charitable Trusts, FY 2022). | 51.8 |
| 47 | New HampshireNortheastEssentially break-even with Washington: a balance of payments of just +$32 million in FFY 2023, the closest to zero of any state (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 50.9 |
| 48 | WashingtonPacific NorthwestOne of only three states that paid more to Washington than they received in FFY 2023, with a balance of negative $54 million (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 49.8 |
| 49 | MassachusettsNortheastA negative $6.8 billion balance of payments in FFY 2023, the second-largest net contribution of any state (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 48.6 |
| 50 | New JerseyLeast federally dependentThe nation's largest net contributor: a negative $18.9 billion balance of payments in FFY 2023, meaning New Jersey taxpayers sent in billions more than the state received back in all federal spending combined (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | 47.2 |
Federal share of state government revenue, FY 2022
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: New Mexico, Alaska, Maryland, and West Virginia with the most favorable balances, and New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington the only three states paying in more than they receive (Rockefeller Institute, FFY 2023).
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.
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 $1.20 per tax dollar (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 table through federal laboratories, military bases, and one of the highest Medicaid enrollment rates in the country. Maryland and Virginia 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). 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 Maryland ranks in the top ten on federal inflows. Red Wyoming's balance of payments is among the least favorable in the country, and red North Dakota runs the most federally independent state budget in America at 22.2 percent (Pew, FY 2022). 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.
Balance of payments with the federal government, FFY 2023
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 paid more in federal taxes than they received back, with New Jersey's gap the largest at $18.9 billion (Pew; Rockefeller Institute, 2025). New Mexico's position as the most favorable per-capita recipient is consistent across editions.
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, whose residents receive the most federal spending per person above taxes paid (Rockefeller Institute). 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: New Jersey (negative $18.9 billion), Massachusetts (negative $6.8 billion), and Washington (negative $54 million). 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 in the nation, blue Maryland ranks high on inflows, and red North Dakota runs 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 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).
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
- Rockefeller Institute of Government, Balance of Payments with the Federal Government (2025 report, FFY 2023 data) https://rockinst.org/issue-area/bop-2025/
- 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/
- 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>The Daily Rank
The paid daily briefing: what moved, who ranks where, and the receipts. Or start with the free weekly digest.
Double opt-in. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your address.