MAP: Which States Relied the Most on Federal Aid in 2013?

by Liz Malm, Richard Borean, The Tax Foundation, May 14, 2015

Though taxes are the most common and recognizable source of state government revenues, it's important to remember that they're not the only source. In fact, state governments received 30.0 percent of their total general revenues from transfers from the federal government in the 2013 fiscal year.

That number varies pretty widely for specific states, however. For example, Mississippi obtained 42.9 percent of its total state general revenues from the federal government (the largest share in the country). Also on the high end are Louisiana (41.9 percent), Tennessee (39.5 percent), South Dakota (39.0 percent), and Missouri (38.2 percent).

On the other end of the spectrum are those states who received a much smaller share of general revenues from the federal government. The lowest federal share occurred in North Dakota at 19.0 percent, followed by Hawaii (21.5 percent), Alaska (22.4 percent), Virginia (22.9 percent), and Connecticut (23.4 percent).

For all fifty states, see the map below. Note that this measure of general revenue includes tax collections but excludes utility revenue, liquor store revenue, and insurance trust revenue.

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2012 Numbers: Which States Receive the Most Federal Aid? -- Hawaii is 47th