Government Spending: Federal, State, Local

Governments in the US will spend $6.3 trillion in 2012.

In fiscal 2012 the federal government estimates spending will be $3.8 trillion, of which $0.6 trillion will be transferred to states and local governments. State spending for 2012 is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com at $1.4 trilion and local government spending is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com at $1.7 trillion.

Total spending at all levels of government in the United States is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com to be $6.3 trillion in 2012.

Government Spending: the Big Picture

The four big programs each cost about one trillion dollars a year.

Where does all the money go? It is really quite simple. Governments at all levels, federal, state, and local, spend about $1.0 trillion a year on pensions, including Social Security and government employee pensions. Governments spend about $1.1 trillion a year on health care, principally Medicare and Medicaid. Governments spend about $0.9 trillion a year on education at all levels, principally at the local government level. The federal government spends about $0.9 trillion a year on defense, including the Departments of Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs. Governments spend $0.6 trillion on welfare programs. All other spending amounts to $1.7 trillion, including interest on the national debt. It all adds up to $6.3 trillion.

Pie Chart of Total US Government Spending

Although the four big government programs--pensions, health care, education, and defense--each cost about a trillion dollars a year they are distributed unequally between the levels of government.

Chart 2.04: Total Spending Details

Total government spending in the United States, including federal, state, and local governments, is expected to total $6.3 trillion in 2012. The total features five major functions. Of the total spending, health care takes a 17 percent share of total spending, pensions a 16 percent share, education a 15 percent share, and defense a 14 percent share. Welfare, the fifth largest function, takes an 11 percent share of spending. All other functions, including interest on the debt, take only 26 percent of spending.

Pie Chart of Federal Government Spending

Chart 2.05: Federal Spending Details

Federal spending is budgeted at $3.8 trillion for FY 2012, and includes four major functions. Defense, including foreign policy, veterans, and foreign aid, is 24 percent of spending; health care, principally Medicare and Medicaid, takes a 22 percent share; pensions, principally Social Security, take a 22 percent share; and welfare takes 12 percent of spending. All other spending, including interest on the national debt, takes 20 percent of federal spending.

Notice that education is not a major item in federal spending.

Pie Chart of State Government Spending

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Chart 2.06: State Spending Details

State government spending, as "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com, will total about $1.43 trillion in FY 2012, and features five major functions. Health care spending takes 31 percent of spending, education an 18 percent share, welfare 13 percent, and state government pensions a 11 percent share. Transportation takes a 8 percent share of state spending. All other spending takes a 20 percent share of state government spending.

Pie Chart of Local Government Spending

Chart 2.07: Local Spending Details

Local government spending, as "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com, will total about $1.7 trillion on FY 2012, and features two major functions. Biggest program by far is education, that is, K-12 schools, taking a full 39 percent of local spending, followed by protection--police, fire and justice system--at 11 percent. Then comes transportation at 8 percent and health care at 8 percent. All other programs, at 35 percent of total, each take less than 7 percent of local government spending.