Recent and Estimated* US State Government Spending
Spending in billions
Click chart for briefing on Entitlement Spending.
For numbers and more click here.Spending in Percent GDP
Click chart for briefing on Entitlement Spending.
For numbers and more click here. | |
The two charts show above show recent and
"guesstimated"
direct spending for state governments in the United States. On the left is a chart of spending in current dollars.
On the right is a chart of spending as a percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Note:
* State Spending after 2010 is estimated.
US State Government Spending Since 1900
Click chart for briefing on State Government Spending.
For numbers from 1900-2018 click
here.
At the start of the 20th century state government spending was the smallest component of
government, expending less than one percent of GDP each year. But state government
spending has steadily increased throughout the 20th century. It went over 1 percent of GDP
in the 1920s and exploded to 3 percent of GDP in the 1930s. In the 1950s state government
began a steady growth, from 3 percent of GDP in the early 1950s to over 8 percent of GDP
by 2000.
Federal, State, Local Spending in 20th Century
Click chart for briefing on Total Spending.
For numbers from 1900-2018 click
here.
At the start of the 20th century, government spending was principally local government spending. Out of a total of 7 percent of GDP, a full 4 percent was spent
at the local level. Federal spending spiked in World War I, but in the 1920s, local
government still represented about half of all government spending. In the 1930s this
changed, and federal spending surged to about half of all government spending.
After the spike of World War II the federal share increased again and state government
spending also began to increase as a percent of GDP, so that by the 2010s federal spending
checked in at over 20 percent of GDP, state spending amounted to 8 to 9 percent of GDP
and local spending exceeded 10 percent of GDP.
