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Which states pay more than they get from the federal government?

For every state, we compare two numbers — federal taxes paid by people and companies inside the state, and federal dollars that flow back into the state. The difference is the state’s balance.

What this means

  • Taxes paid: federal taxes collected from people and businesses in the state.
  • Spending received:federal money flowing back through programs, salaries, contracts, healthcare, infrastructure, and benefits.
  • Gets back more than it pays? It’s a beneficiary.
  • Pays more than it gets back? It’s a donor.

Nationally, every $1 paid to the federal government comes back as $1.32 in federal spending. (The government runs a deficit, so the whole pie is bigger than what was collected.)

Read the full methodology →

Per-resident figures are state-level totals divided by population — not a check each person receives. They fold together direct payments to individuals (Social Security, Medicare), salaries to federal workers stationed there, grants to the state government, and contracts to companies based in the state. Treat them as a comparison across states, not a per-person budget.

FY2023 snapshot: only 3 states were donors — Washington, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The other 47 states were net beneficiaries. This is a big shift from the pre-pandemic era when ~10 states were donors. Continued federal pandemic-era spending plus the deficit pushed almost every state into positive territory.

Personal vs. state: a working-age person with a steady job in Kentucky probably pays more in federal taxes than they get back, even though Kentucky as a whole gets back more than it pays. The state number averages everyone together — high earners, retirees, Medicaid recipients, federal workers, military bases.

Surprising findings

  • New Mexico gets back over 3.2× what it paysFor every $1 New Mexico sends in federal taxes, $3.21 comes back.
  • New Hampshire basically breaks evenGets back $1.00 for every $1 paid — almost exactly what it sends.
  • New Jersey sends $1 and gets back 88 centsOne of only a few net-donor states this year.
Net donors3pay more than they get
Net beneficiaries48get more than they pay
Biggest donor (per resident)NJ−$1,900 / resident
Biggest beneficiary (per resident)DC+$81,084 / resident

Top 5 beneficiary states

Biggest gain per resident

Top 5 donor states

Biggest loss per resident

Most states receive more federal spending than they pay in taxes.

That’s because the federal government runs a deficit — it spends more than it collects overall. The interesting question is which states receive more federal spending relative to taxes paid, and which receive less.

Why we rank per resident and use a ratio →
  • Per resident — divides each state’s totals by population, so a small state with a big federal footprint (Alaska, New Mexico) doesn’t get drowned by a big one with a smaller footprint (California, Texas).
  • Return ratio — federal spending divided by federal taxes paid. Compares the state to itself. National ratio is $1.32 per $1; states above that receive more federal spending relative to taxes paid, states below it receive less.

All 50 states & D.C., ranked

Search or scroll. The big number on the right is the return ratio — federal $ received per $1 of federal taxes paid. Green = beneficiary, red = donor. D.C. is included for completeness but it’s a federal district (not a state) and an extreme outlier.

See your own share

Your state’s balance is one part of the story. Plug in your salary and filing status to see how much of your federal tax bill goes where, across the whole budget.

Compute your receipt →
See where federal money actually goesDefense, Medicare, Social Security, education, transportation, and 12 more — what each one covers and where it spends.
→
Sources & methodology

State rankings and per-capita figures are taken directly from the New York State Comptroller’s official FFY 2023 Balance of Payments report (April 2025) and its Excel supplement, so the numbers match the Comptroller’s published tables to the dollar. The Comptroller uses the same methodology as the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the OMB.

D.C. note: The Comptroller’s ranked table covers the 50 states only. We include D.C. alongside the states for completeness, but D.C. is a federal district (not a state) and is an extreme outlier because the federal government is physically headquartered there — federal employee salaries dominate the local economy.

Federal taxes paid come from IRS collections. Federal spending includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, federal employee wages, contracts, grants, and other identified spending in each state. Excludes spending in Puerto Rico and outlying areas.