Every December at around this time, the National Association of State Budget Officers releases its State Expenditure Report, which contains state-by-state data on the seven main program areas of state spending: elementary and secondary education, higher education, public assistance, Medicaid, corrections, transportation, and “all other”. 

It was released this morning. As always, its findings are of enormous aid to anyone who cares about state budgets. You can find the report here.

Some of the report’s highlights, according to a NASBO release: 

• Federal fund expenditures slightly declined year-over-year in both fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023, although their levels remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic totals.

• State general fund expenditures experienced record two-year growth in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023.

• Among program areas, Medicaid saw the largest spending increase in fiscal 2022, while transportation had the highest growth in fiscal 2023.

• General funds once again represented the greatest share of total state spending in fiscal 2023. Fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 marked the only two years in the history of the State Expenditure Report when federal funds surpassed general funds as a share of total state spending.

• In fiscal 2023, total state spending was 40.7 percent higher than fiscal 2019’s pre-pandemic level, demonstrating the continued impact of federal COVID-19 aid and the recent growth in state tax collections.

  
  

Don’t miss the full report! Like Thanksgiving, it’s a once-in-a-year event.