2021’s Most & Least Federally Dependent States

From Wallet Hub, Mar 17, 2021

Federal assistance to states has come into the spotlight recently during the coronavirus pandemic, where some states have received far more money per case than others. For example, in the initial $150 billion given to states from the stimulus package, which was allocated by population, New York got less than $24,000 per positive case while Alaska received over $3.3 million. While the second stimulus package passed in December didn’t include any direct assistance to states, the government still faces questions about whether its initial distribution was truly equitable and efficient, and whether any future aid will be as well.

For years, Americans have looked at federal assistance programs with growing scrutiny, and the number of people dependent on government assistance was decreasing prior to the coronavirus crisis. Regardless of overall trends, though, it is clear that some states receive a far higher return on their federal income-tax contributions than others.

In order to find out exactly how big the difference in federal dependence is from state to state, WalletHub compared the 50 states in terms of three key metrics.

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